Dirty Little Secret
by Tiffyxox
Summary: A lot can happen in thirty days... but is that enough time to get someone to fall in love with you? Or even sleep with you? After agreeing to bets to try and do just that, Nic and Tegan are about to find out if there is enough time... the hard way.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys! So, I told you all I'd be writing a Dolph fic soon... and I didn't lie! There are barely any on here, so it wouldn't surprise me if this doesn't get many reviews, but meh, it's pretty much for my own personal gain anyway... but of course, I'd still love for you all to leave feedback!**

**Obviously Dolph's real name is Nic, so I'll be using that instead of his ring name... mainly because I just can't take him seriously when I call him DZ in here, haha. As for everyone else, I've just used their wrestling names so it doesn't get all confusing.**

**Anyway, hope you all like it. It's a pretty original idea behind it, but hopefully it'll turn out okay. Please don't forget to review!**

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Dirty Little Secret

Chapter 1

**Nic**

Running a hand through my messy hair, I pushed open the familiar locker room door, a permanent smirk on my face as I made eye contact with my fellow workers, daring them to do better.

I wasn't exactly the biggest star in the business, but as far as I was concerned, I was by far the best wrestler they had. Not only did I have charisma, but the mic skills, the looks... the list went on and on.

"Nice match, Nic," A good friend of mine, Zack Ryder, spoke up from one of the benches, a smirk on his face as he held his fist out for me to return.

"Yeah, you don't have to tell me, I know," I smirked back, returning our own handshake before I moved to my own space next to him, picking up my towel and throwing it over my shoulders.

"Yeah but, you think you're good at everything, Ziggles," John Morrison began from the opposite side of me, and I turned to raise an eyebrow at him. Who was he to say that to me? He was just some punk ass brunette who was a less hot version than me.

"Because I am," I shrugged.

"Sure you are," He nodded sarcastically, smiling a shit eating grin my way, "You're the best wrestler in this locker room, right? You're 'perfection'."

"That's what the theme says, dude," I rolled my eyes, beginning to grow tired of him already. I turned around and pulled out my blackberry, updating my statuses as Jomo the homo carried on about something totally unimportant.

Well, until I heard something about chicks.

"What was that?" I looked up, a frown on my face.

"I said, you tweeting about chicks again?" He chuckled, "Sure you are, the only action you get is online."

"Whatever, you and I both know I can get any woman I want, whenever I want," I turned to Zack, a smirk on my face when I nodded his way, "Ain't that right, man?"

"Yeah," He grinned back, looking up at John, "You should have seen this one chick a few months back. We were at this club; she arrived with her boyfriend about half an hour after us. Nic liked her, so he went up... ten minutes later she'd left the club with him."

"Huh-uh," John nodded with a raised eyebrow, "Was she blind? Or really, really drunk?"

"Funny," I replied, glaring his way, "You're just jealous cause you can barely get any, man. I bring a different girl home every night, and believe me; they all come back for more."

"It's true," Zack nodded in agreement, "I'd do anything to be this guy," He patted me on the shoulder.

"Is that so?" John folded one arm across his chest, his other lifting to rub his chin in thought, "And you really think you could have any girl?"

"Any," I smirked, raising an arrogant eyebrow his way.

"Alright then," He nodded to himself, before folding his arms completely, "I bet you $500 that you can't get a girl of my choice to sleep with you in a month."

My smile froze on my face as I looked his way, wondering if he was being serious. Since when were we talking about bets? And a girl of his choice? He was probably gonna pick some crazy ass girl that was into other chicks or something...

But how could I refuse? I couldn't ruin my reputation by turning it down and making myself look like a pussy.

I turned to look at Zack, a questioning look on my face as if I were asking for his opinion. Truthfully, I was asking for a way out, but I knew he wouldn't be much help with that. With a smirk he nodded my way, so with the smallest of groans I turned back around and plastered the smirk back on my face.

"Alright, you're on. Who's the girl?"

"Hmm, let me think..." Jomo brainstormed for what felt like forever, probably running over every damn Diva there was before his eyes lit up and he nodded to himself, before his eyes returned to my face, a far too amused expression on his own, "Tegan."

My face dropped for the second time in the last few minutes, but this time my smirk would not be returning. Was he out of his fucking mind?

"You've gotta be kidding me," I shook my head, "That girl is a psychopath, Jomo. I ain't even fucking going near her, never mind sleeping with her."

"Alright," He shrugged, "I just thought when you said you could sleep with any girl, you actually meant any, not just the easy ones... but ya know, it's cool if you can't handle it."

I gritted my teeth, hating him and his stupid mouth, his stupid ideas... everything about him was just downright stupid. Tegan Williams was the craziest woman I'd ever known... and because of my damn rep, I somehow had to get her to sleep with me. This was gonna be the hardest month of my life.

"Fine, whatever, I'll do it," I shrugged, forcing myself to smile, "It'll be a piece of cake."

"Sure it will," John chuckled, "Make sure you keep us updated."

"Oh don't worry, I will," I smirked, throwing my phone down before I turned around so I could see both Zack and John at the same time, "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go take a shower, then go win myself a bet." I winked, before walking off, my smile quickly disappearing as I thought just how fucked I really was.

* * *

**Tegan**

"Wow, you're in a good mood today," My best friend snorted from beside me, and I rolled my eyes, wondering why she even bothered saying that to me. Every single day she told me the same thing... didn't she know this was the usual me by now?

"Aren't I always?" I raised an eyebrow as I turned to look at her, her bright pink strand of hair matching her wrestling gear perfectly.

"Touché," She chuckled, shaking her head back and forth, her curly locks bobbing along with it, "I just thought seeing as you'd had a good match out there tonight, you might actually be happy for a change," She was still smiling as we walked into the canteen, which was still surprisingly buzzing with people. Great, just what I wanted.

"Yeah, a match against Barbie," I sneered, referring to Kelly Kelly, "I don't think that's cause for celebration. When I face someone like Beth, Michelle, you... then I might crack a smile."

"And I'll grow a tail and fur," She joked back as we manoeuvred through the people around us, my face set in a permanent sneer. One fact about me – I hated people. I had never been a people person... in fact, except for Nattie, I hated the majority of the people I worked with. I wasn't there for them, anyway. I was there to work, not to socialise.

Queuing up with the rest of the people waiting for food, we began a small conversation about the night's events, and about the Diva division at the moment.

"I'm telling you, we're two of the only decent ones left, Nattie," I eyed her with a sideways glance.

"You can't say that, Tegan," She shook her head with a hushed tone, "Alright, so maybe the Divas aren't like they used to be, but they're all here for a reason."

"Yeah, tits and ass," I scowled, thankful that it was my turn to grab some chow. I didn't want to argue with her about the females of the wrestling world, we had done that far too many times already.

I grabbed a plateful of healthy stuff and a bottle of water before I backed away and waited for my friend. Realising that she was nearly done, I span around to look for an empty table... and smacked face first into whatever idiot was stood behind me.

"What the..." I groaned, my eyes checking to make sure I hadn't thrown food everywhere before I looked up into the face of the person before me, my eyes narrowing and a sneer growing across my features at the site of him.

The annoying blonde guy just stood there staring at me, a smirk plastered on his stupidly attractive features as he looked down at me. What the fuck was he looking at? I rose an eyebrow at him, waiting to see if he was going to speak.

"Sorry about that, gorgeous," He finally began, winking my way.

I pulled a face at his words, wondering why I'd even bothered to hear him talk at all. He was just like all the other damn guys around, after one thing, and one thing only.

"Ew," I replied in disgust, thankful that Natalya was now by my side.

Sending one last glare his way, I pushed past him and walked over to the nearest empty table I could find. I slumped down in my seat, letting out a sigh of relief. I hadn't realised how exhausted I was until I'd finally gotten a minute to rest.

"What was all that about?" My blonde friend spoke up; her eyebrow raised as she pulled out the chair across from me and took a seat.

"What was what about?" I pulled a face, eating a forkful of salad.

"You and Nic," She nodded her head towards the guy that was now helping himself to some food.

"He bumped into me," I shrugged.

"Yeah, and he was trying to be nice to you... and you were a total bitch," She accused.

"Nice? Please," I scoffed, rolling my eyes, "The guy is an ass and everyone knows it."

"So he's the male version of you, huh?" She asked, letting out a small sigh, "Look Tee, you know I love you... but you seriously need to stop being so short with everyone. You're never going to get anywhere if you do, and not to mention you're never going to find yourself a guy."

"Who said I want a guy? Every single relationship I've had in the past has ended badly, so what's the point? I'm better off without them."

"So you're afraid of falling in love?"

"I didn't say that," I glared, "That ain't the problem. I've been in love before, and I've had plenty of guys fall in love with me..."

"Oh yeah? Sure, I can really see them all diving at your feet after you've insulted them in every way possible," She laughed my way.

"Please," I rolled my eyes, flicking my fiery red hair behind my back, "I could make any guy fall in love with me if I wanted. _Any guy_."

"Any?" A small smirk began to grow across Natalya's face, and I frowned, wondering what she was up to, "You sure about that?"

"Umm, yeah..."

"Alright then," She nodded, "I bet you that you can't get a guy of my choice to fall in love with you over the next month."

"Please," I rolled my eyes, "Why would I wanna do that?"

"I dunno," She shrugged, looking down at the women's title that lay beside her on the table, "Maybe because I'll go to Vince and tell him you deserve to get a shot at the title... and you know how much he adores little old Nattie," She winked.

"You're joking, right?"

"No," She shook her head, "If you do this... if you get a guy to love you in one month, I'll go to Vince straight away and ask him to give you a title shot. Pinky promise," She held out her hand, smiling my way.

I looked down at her hand, then back up at her, wondering what I should do. The whole bet thing was ridiculous... but what she'd offered me, well... it was the one thing I wanted more than anything. How could I turn that down? One month of torture with some random guy would be worth winning the title.

"Alright, fine," I joined pinkies with her, "You've got yourself a deal. Now, who's the guy?"

A wicked smirk grew across her face, and I gulped, wishing I'd been clever enough to ask this before we'd made the deal. I was gonna be in so much shit, I just knew it...

"Who else?" She asked, her eyes turning sideways to one of the tables where the blonde guy from earlier was sat, "You've got a month to make Nic Nemeth fall in love with you, Tegan."


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hey guys! Wow, I actually didn't expect any reviews for this because I know Nic isn't a big star, so when I got 5 I was pleasantly surprised. So, big thanks to **_Bubblyjayy, hardyrhodescenafan1, Mizzy681, nikki1335 _**and **_beautifultragedyxxx _**for leaving feedback, I love you all!**

**Here's the second chapter. I hope you all like, and please let me know what you think!**

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Chapter 2

**Nic**

"Here's your chance, Nic... or are you still wounded from the other day, when she totally blanked you?" John spoke up from beside me, an amused smirk on his face.

I shot him a sideways glare, silently telling him to shut his mouth. Oh yeah, it was really hilarious, utterly side splitting, that Tegan had blown me off two days previously.

She must have been the craziest girl in the world to have done that to someone like me... and I must have been the craziest guy in the world to want to try it all over again.

At first, I'd told myself there was no way I was doing it again. Why should I let my pride be ruined by a stupid red head that couldn't stand other people?

But after a day or so, I finally cooled down, and realised I couldn't walk away. No matter how much I despised what I had to do, I had to carry on with the bet. Not only would I be able to totally stick it to John when I ended up getting her into my bed, but there would also be a big fat wad of cash for me at the end of it all, too.

But how I was going to get to that point... well, it was easier said than done.

"Too much for you, isn't she, Ziggles?"

"Come on man, this is Tegan we're talking about. Why don't you try winning her over?" Zack spoke up, leaning forward so that he could turn and raise his eyebrow at John.

"I would, but it's not my place... its Nic's," He smirked once again.

As much as I wanted to lean over and punch him in the face, what he was saying was the truth. It wasn't his problem that Tegan was a complete psycho... it was mine. Somehow, I had to get this crazy girl to let me into her life, and then into her pants... in less than thirty days.

"You know, you're right," I nodded. No time was going to be perfect to go and talk to her, but the sooner, the better. I'd already wasted two days; there was no way I was wasting another, "I'm going to go speak to her now. Later, guys," I smirked at both John and Zack, before I picked up my luggage and stood up, my eyes set on the red head and her friend as I began to move towards them.

But before I knew it, before I could barely move a few steps, the intercom announced that our flight to Richmond, Virginia, was boarding... and without so much of a glance my way, Tegan and Natalya picked up their bags and walked away, leaving me to stand by myself and watch as they disappeared.

"Too bad, man. Maybe next time," I felt a hand land on my shoulder, and I turned to see John chuckling, his head shaking back and forth.

I stayed silent as I watched him walk away; quickly followed by Zack, wondering what the hell I was going to have to do to win this girl over. Shaking my head, I followed the rest of the crowd towards the plane, hoping that sometime soon I was going to catch a break.

* * *

**Tegan**

"You should have spoken to him, Tee," My blonde friend rolled her eyes as we squeezed through the small plane aisles, searching for our seats. Unfortunately for me, we weren't seated next to each other, which meant I was going to have to sit next to some idiot for far too many hours. The joys of flying.

"How many times have I told you that I've got to wait for the right time?" I glared back, my green eyes piercing her own, "What's he going to think if I just waltz over to him after how I spoke the other day, asking him for a date or whatever? He's going to be more than suspicious," I shook my head.

"Look at you, with everything already planned out," She smirked, "I think you're enjoying this more than you're letting on."

"Right, because I really want to make some punk ass, annoying pretty boy fall in love with me," I sneered, "No, Nattie. I want the title shot, not the guy."

"Huh-uh, sure."

Shaking my head, I looked down at my ticket and for the first time all day, smiled ever so slightly as I found my seat on the edge of a row that was empty. For once I was thankful that I _wasn't _sat with my best friend... I just hoped I wasn't sat with anyone else either.

"Oh look, this is me," I spoke up far too enthusiastically, "Cya later, Nattie."

Shaking her head, the young blonde rolled her eyes my way... but as she turned to look further down the plane, they grew wide at whatever it was she had seen.

"What? What is it?" I asked, a feeling of dread growing in my stomach at the slow smirk that grew across her features.

"Oh, nothing," She added innocently, "Have fun, Tee," She chuckled, before quickly disappearing... only to be replaced by the man we had been speaking about only moments before.

"Ah crap," I winced under my breath, my eyes connecting with his, and noticing for the first time how deep blue they were.

"Hi, Tegan," He looked about as shocked as I was, but a small smile played on the edge of his lips.

"Nic," I nodded his way, my eyes catching a glimpse of his toned stomach as he reached up to put away his jacket and bag.

I shot my eyes away as he stepped back down, and I shook my head at myself, wondering what the hell I was thinking. So I had to make this guy fall in love with me, but that didn't mean I had to like him, too. Okay, so he was hot... big deal. Most assholes _were _hot; it just came with the package.

I sighed to myself as he took the seat beside me, and an awkward silence loomed over us both as we watched the last of the passengers filter in. I watched his hands as he tapped away at his grey jeans, wondering what I was supposed to say to him. I didn't want to rush into speaking to him... but how could I sit through an entire plane ride without saying anything?

"So..." I began to say, at the exact same time that he opened his mouth to speak, too. "Oh, err sorry," My cheeks grew red as I looked down at my lap.

"No, it's cool," He chuckled, "You wanted to say something?"

I slowly lifted my eyes to connect with his, swearing to myself at how damn good looking this guy was. I had to remind myself to punch Nattie later for giving me someone like him to do this with. I'd have preferred the ugliest guy in the world, as long as he wasn't an asshole. Instead I had to put up with his gorgeous face and body, and keep telling myself that deep down he was an idiot... and that this was all a bet.

Not that I'd want anything to do with him if it wasn't, anyway. He may have been attractive, but he was just like the rest of them. All guys were the same.

"Yeah, actually," I spoke up with more confidence, wondering why the hell I had been blushing before. That so wasn't me, I wasn't going to let this guy get to me like that. Shaking my head, I cringed at what I was about to do, knowing that as much as I didn't want to say it, it had to be done, "About the other day, after the show... I'm sorry, for how I spoke to you. I was just pissed at my match, Nattie was seriously bugging me, and I guess I just took it out on you," I shrugged, sending him the best puppy dog eyes I could muster.

Nic looked on with an expression that said it all. He thought I was crazy... and why wouldn't he? I was pretty much known for being some freaky, insane girl that hated everyone in the WWE. No wonder he was looking at me like that.

"It's okay."

I did a double take as I took in his words, wondering if what I was hearing was the truth. I looked at him suspiciously for far too long before finally speaking up.

"Umm, huh?" I asked stupidly.

"I said, its okay," He shook his head, chuckling slightly; "I understand where you're coming from, with the match thing. I know what it feels like to work your ass off and still get basically nowhere with it, so yeah... it's cool," He nodded, with the smallest of smiles.

I looked at him then, really looked at him, and I realised that despite everything, he was really telling the truth. He had the same problem as me when it came to getting somewhere in the business... it was just strange that two totally opposite people had the same thing on their minds.

Not knowing how else to answer, I simply nodded his way, the next thing I had to do running over my mind. If saying sorry wasn't bad enough, then this definitely would be.

"Still, I feel bad," I shrugged, having to stop myself from rolling my eyes, "So, umm, I was just wondering... if you wanted to go for a drink later or something? Just to say I'm sorry, you know..." I coughed lightly; hiding the cringe and shudder at the thought of being out drinking with someone like him. My worst nightmare ever couldn't compare.

"Really?" He asked, his eyes wide. God, I swore if I surprised him again he was gonna have a heart attack or something... but I guess I wasn't the only one that was doing it, "You don't have to do that, Tegan... but I mean, if you want to, then sure. I'd love to go for a drink with you," He smiled too perfectly my way.

"Okay," I nodded, wondering why I was so disappointed that he wanted to do so. Even if he had said no, I'd still have had to find a way to get around him, "Well, should we just... go to the hotel bar or something?"

"Yeah, sounds good to me," He nodded, leaning back in his seat, "What time?"

"Well I wanna get a few hours kip after the flight, so let's say, eight?"

"It's a date," He winked.

Luckily for me, the air hostesses began to go through the usual safety procedures at the front, catching Nic's attention so he didn't see the way my eyes grew wide. I watched him as he looked on, completely engrossed in the information that was being spoken... most likely because of the pretty brunette in the short skirt that was speaking it.

Shaking my head, I leaned it back against the seat and closed my eyes, wondering what the hell I'd gotten myself in to. The last five minutes had been torture, and I still had a whole twenty eight days of Nic to go before this was all over with.

* * *

**Nic**

The flight passed by quicker than I had wanted... mainly because for the entire time I was sat next to Tegan. Somehow, since Tuesday after the show, she had done a complete one eighty. When she had apologised to me on the plane, she had been a completely different person to the one I had seen a few days previously. Perhaps she wasn't the person I had first thought...

But unfortunately for me, the minute we took off, her head hit the pillow she'd made from her coat, and she was completely gone. I had hoped that we could have talked a little more, got to know each other a little better, so I was that little bit closer to winning my five hundred bucks... but it could have been worse, I guess.

After arriving at the hotel, I passed the time by going to the gym, doubling my usual workout. I was going to be seriously sore in the morning, but I needed to look as good as possible, especially now I had to win over possibly the hardest woman to please ever.

After my gym session, I took a quick shower, pulled on a pair of black jeans and a pink t-shirt - I wasn't sure what it was about girls and pink, but they loved it on me – and splashed on my favourite cologne, before making my way down to the bar half an hour early. Maybe Tegan was proving to be much easier to be around than I had first thought, but I was still worried that she was going to go back to the woman I knew by reputation... so I decided to have a few drinks to calm myself down before she arrived.

"Same again?" The bartender, a pretty little blonde, spoke up. I looked up from my drink to see her leaning across the bar, her small top leaving little to the imagination. I smirked her way playfully, wondering if I could somehow get away from Tegan later and come back for her...

I shook my head to myself and forced my eyes to look in to her own. She may have been damn beautiful, but I couldn't afford to do that. For the next month I was going to be on my best behaviour. If I couldn't even look at another woman to get what I wanted, then I'd do it... even if it was going to kill me.

"Please," I nodded, before I forced myself to look away and across the room.

It didn't take long for my mind to completely forget about the blonde as I looked towards the entrance, and my eyes connected with the woman walking into the bar. Looking around for a few seconds, her own eyes quickly connected with mine, and the smallest of smiles grew across her lips as she began to walk over to me.

I took in every inch of her as she made her way over, from the tip of her black boots to the top of her fiery hair. Dressed in dark blue jeans and a simply scoop neck green t-shirt that made her eyes stand out all the more... well, she looked absolutely gorgeous. I'd always gone by the phrase less was more when it came to women's clothes, but on Tegan? She really wasn't like other girls.

"Hey," She smiled as she finally reached me, amused at my obviously gaping stare.

"Urr, hi," I forced my eyes away from her and pointed to the seat next to me, "You wanna sit?" I asked, mentally kicking myself afterwards. Of course she wanted to sit, you asshole. She was there to be with you.

"Sure," She chuckled, coolly slipping onto the stool and crossing one leg over the other as she placed her small clutch on the bar top, "So, have you been here long?"

"Not really, just had a few drinks," I shook my head, finally forcing myself to look back into her eyes.

"Yeah? I thought I was buying?" She smiled back lightly.

"Please, what kind of a guy would that make me?" I rolled my eyes, my smirk quickly returning, "What would you like?"

"I don't mind," She shrugged, "Whatever you're having." She nodded towards my pint of beer.

I rose an eyebrow her way... she really wanted a pint of beer? The small smile that she sent me made me realise that she was being serious, so when I turned back to order her drink, another smirk grew across my face. Tegan wasn't like any other woman I'd known... but that didn't mean it was a bad thing. Perhaps the next twenty eight days weren't going to be as bad as I had thought.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Hey guys! I just want to say sorry for not updating this in a little while, I've been really busy the past week and just haven't had the time to write this... but, here it finally is.**

**I want to say a big thank you to my fellow Dolph fans, **_Bubblyjayy, beautifultragedyxxx, hardyrhodescenafan1 _**and **_nikki1335 _**for reviewing the last chapter, you have no idea how much it means!**

**I hope you all enjoy this one, and please don't forget to leave feedback when you've done!**

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Chapter 3

**Tegan**

The following afternoon Natalya and myself decided to make the most of our few spare hours before the house show, so instead of lounging around in the hotel, we arrived at the arena early and made our way to the ring, deciding on a quick training session before we had to leave ready for the fans entering the building.

"So..."

"So what?" I asked, brushing away my hair that had fallen around my face, and wiping the back of my hand across my brow. I had to admit, this girl was tough. We'd been wrestling each other for barely half an hour, yet I was already exhausted... but that still didn't hide the smile that was constantly playing on my lips.

"Why are you smiling like that?" She rose an eyebrow and rested her hands against her hips, "And why are you in such a good mood?"

"Can't I be happy?" I asked with a grin, knowing what she was going to say already. I was never happy... not unless something was going to go my way... and that was exactly what was happening.

"No," She eyed me suspiciously, "What's going on?"

"Oh, nothing really," I grinned innocently as I backed up and leaned against the turnbuckle, guessing that our training session was over with for now, "I guess you could just say that the next twenty seven days are going to be much easier than I had first thought."

"What do you mean? Did something happen with Nic?" She rose an eyebrow, leaning against the corner opposite me.

"You could say that. We went out to the bar together last night."

"Boy," She whistled, "You do work fast... and everything went well?" She sounded far too disappointed, and I couldn't help but laugh in response.

"Didn't think I'd be able to handle it, huh Nattie?" I grinned back, before I shook my head, "No, everything didn't go well... it went great."

I couldn't hide yet another smile as I thought back to the previous night. In fact, when I had first been walking down to the hotel bar I had been a little worried that the real Nic was going to appear after a few drinks, the one I had always expected him to be... but that never happened. The entire night we spent getting to know each other a little more, and somehow, he had been the perfect gentleman throughout all of it.

And when it started to get late and I stood to leave, he even walked me back to my hotel room. I had never in a million years imagined my bet to have been easy... I mean, Nic wasn't exactly someone I would have chosen myself for this. Who would have thought that someone with his reputation could have been so easy to get along with?

But, I still wasn't allowing myself to let down my guard yet. Of course, I was going to play along with this act of his, if that was what it was, for now... but I didn't expect it to last for long.

"Yeah well, you still have a long way to go yet," My blonde friend interrupted my thoughts, glaring at me from across the ring.

My smile quickly disappeared and I screwed up my mouth, wondering why she had to burst my happy bubble. I hated that she was always right. I had twenty seven days, which didn't sound too bad when I thought of the progress I'd already gotten... but when I thought of what I still have to do to make him fall in love with me...

"Well, that might be true, but I'm gonna do it," I shrugged, returning the smirk to my lips, "He'll be in love with me before you know it, so you better shine up that belt real nice and kiss it goodbye, because when the time is up, I'm gonna be taking it from you."

"Uh-huh, I think we'll wait and see about that," Nattie laughed back, before she pulled herself back up into a standing position, "So, you wanna have another quick match before we're done?"

"Sure," I nodded, before the two of us ran into a grapple, all thoughts of the bet disappearing as I concentrated on our training session.

* * *

**Nic**

I couldn't help myself, how could I not look smug as I took in John's wide eyed expression as I told him about the night Tegan and I had had previously? It was pretty obvious by the way he was looking at me now that he didn't think I'd get anywhere near her, never mind get a date with her.

"Wait... so she actually said she had fun, at the end of the night?"

I sighed to myself as I pushed open the backstage doors to the arena, wondering why it was so hard for him to accept what I was saying. Surely it wasn't that big a shock? After all, I had told him I could win over absolutely _any _girl, even the crazy ones...

Not that Tegan was crazy, though. From the time I had spent with her, she was anything but. She was actually a pretty decent chick... just greatly misunderstood.

"Yeah, man," I nodded with a smirk, "And that she'd like to do it again sometime. We swapped numbers so I can give her a call for our next date."

"Nah, no way, I don't believe you," John shook his head, folding his arms across his chest, "You stretched it pretty far with the whole date thing, but to say that she actually enjoyed herself... either you've got the wrong girl, or you're lying."

"Do you think that little of me?" I laughed lightly, shaking my head, "Well man, whatever you say, it doesn't matter because it happened. We're actually getting on pretty well, believe it or not. She's not that bad."

"Now I _know _you're lying. That chick is crazy and everyone here knows it."

It was strange that as I listened to John talking about Tegan like that, anger began to bubble inside of me. Who was he to call her crazy? He didn't even know her. I had to admit that I was the same when I had first heard she was the girl I had to get to sleep with... but I wasn't going to make that mistake again. I knew better than anyone that reputations weren't always the truth.

"Dude, just shut up," I slapped him upside the head as I dropped my things down on the bench, "And fine, you don't believe me... we'll go see her now," I shrugged, knowing that I had been planning to do so anyway.

"Right, so she can brush you off again like last time?"

"No... so we can ask if she wants to go out again later," I glared back, ready to hit him around the head again, "And you and Zack can tag along as well, if you want. We'll get a bunch of us to go out so you can see just how truthful I'm being."

"Alright then, let's go find her," He shrugged my way, and I nodded, running a hand through my blonde hair before I led the way back out the locker room.

After asking a few different people if they had seen Tegan yet, we realised we were in luck when one of the lighting guys told us he had just left the ramp and he'd seen her and Nattie having a training session in the ring. Smirking to John when we found out the news, we carried on our way in silence. I was running over a whole bunch of different things to say to her when I saw her... but when I realised what I was doing, I shook my head. I didn't need to show off around her. The reason I had got here in the first place was because I simply acted like a decent guy... so that was all I was going to do again.

As we walked through the curtain and onto the ramp, I turned to look at John, who was looking my way with an eyebrow raised and a smirk on his face. I rolled my eyes, knowing too well what he was thinking... but as we got closer to the two girls in the ring, it was pretty hard not to think that way.

When we finally reached the ring I leant against it, my eyes focused on one thing and one thing only. I could tell that John was staring at them too, but he was most likely checking out Nattie rather than Tegan. He thought she was too crazy to be hot... but I knew the real her, which made her even more damn beautiful. I was mesmerised by her short white top and matching hot pants with red flames running across them, making the colour of her hair stick out even further than it usually did.

"Would you look at that," John whistled, breaking the silence. Both the girls stopped dead and turned to look our way with wide eyes, and I yet again had the urge to slap him for interrupting.

"Urr, hey guys..." Tegan was the first to speak up, a small smile growing on her lips as she walked over and leaned against the ropes, running a hand through her locks to try and tame them.

"Hi there," John winked, and I rolled my eyes, wondering how the hell he ever managed to pick up chicks. He was so un-stealthy he was like a damn elephant.

"Shut up, man," I shook my head, a small smile growing on my own lips as I pulled myself up with the ropes, so that I was now facing Tegan, "Impressive," I rose an eyebrow, nodding towards the ring where Nattie was cleaning herself up with a towel.

"You think so?" She asked, pulling a surprised face, "It was just a little training session, nothing special," He shrugged.

"Well... if that was little, I'd love to see you guys go all out," I smirked her way.

"Really? Well you never know, you might be seeing that in the near future..."

"I hope so," I grinned back her way, "So, last night... I had fun."

"Yeah, so did I," She tilted her head to the side, and I smiled, already noticing this was a cute little habit of hers.

Wait. I frowned to myself... cute? What the hell was I doing? I couldn't find her cute. This was a business deal, and nothing more. She couldn't be anything more than five hundred dollars to me... and maybe a good time in bed... but that was all.

"Good, because me and a few of the guys were gonna go get something to eat from this pretty sick restaurant not far from here, and I was wondering if you'd like to join us? Nattie is welcome too," I smiled at the blonde as she stepped up beside Tegan and passed her a water bottle.

"I dunno, we have lots to do..." Nattie spoke up reluctantly, eyeing her friend with a sideways glance.

"Like what, sitting around?" Tegan rose an eyebrow, before she turned back to look my way and smiled, "We'd love to, Nic. Are we leaving straight after the show?"

"No, we'll go back to the hotel first so we can get changed," I turned to look at John, who scowled at not getting his way and nodded, "We'll all meet up in the lobby at around nine?"

"Okay, sounds good," She grinned at myself and John.

"Alright, we'll see you later, Nattie," I nodded towards the blonde, before I yet again turned to look at Tegan who was still smiling my way. I sighed to myself, and my well known smirk appeared as I sent her a quick wink, "Tegan," I finished, before I hopped down from the ring and turned around without a second glance.

"So..." I began, a smug smile on my face as John caught up with me.

"Don't even think about saying I told you so," He interrupted quickly, and I laughed as I turned to see him glaring at me, "Don't get so smug yet. We still have a whole night ahead of us for shit to go down between you two, and not to mention nearly a whole month after that."

As much as I wanted to put it down to John being a sore loser, I knew he was right. Although I had enjoyed joking around with him, it was time to get serious. I was going to have to work my ass off later on to impress Tegan even more, and messing around with John wasn't going to get that done.

* * *

**Tegan**

"So, who's your daddy?" I smirked triumphantly as I leant against the top rope and turned to look at my best friend.

"Not you, obviously," She glared, and I couldn't help but chuckle. She really didn't expect me to even speak to Nic in the next month, never mind get this far.

"Uh-huh, whatever you say," I grinned, before I picked up my phone from the corner and looked at the time, "Wow, we better get out of here, the fans are gonna be coming in soon."

"Hmm, more like you need to get all dolled up for later," She scoffed sarcastically.

"No, I have a match first," I rolled my eyes, before smiling, "But I could use your help afterwards. You know I love how you curl your hair, will you do mine for me before we go out?"

"No way, Tee," She shook her head, her own smirk growing across her lips as she picked up her things, "You're in this on your own, remember. I'm not helping you win a bet where I'll owe you a shot at my title. I'll see you later," She winked, before climbing out the ring and walking back up the ramp.

I sighed as I watched her go, shaking my head back and forth. Somehow I had to make myself presentable in the half an hour between getting back to the hotel and meeting the group. In fact, I needed to be more than that. I needed to knock Nic's socks off when he saw me... how I was going to do that, I wasn't sure... but I was definitely going to try.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Hey guys! Big thanks go to **_hardyrhodescenafan1, Bubblyjayy, beautifultragedyxxx _**and **_nikki1335 _**for reviewing the last chapter, and also to **_BigRedMachineUK _**for leaving chapter one feedback. I love you guys!**

**Hmm, so I'm still not exactly sure what I think of this chapter. I didn't like it at all when I first wrote it out, but it grew on me a little when I read over it... either way, I hope you all like it. I have the next one written already and it's my favourite so far, so don't go anywhere because you won't be disappointed!**

**Here we go with the next one. Please let me know what you think, and don't forget to leave a review when you've done.**

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Chapter 4

**Tegan**

What was wrong with me? I'd never been like this before... I'd never really cared what other people thought I looked like, and I'd definitely never been nervous about going out with a group of work mates. Of course, I had to impress Nic... but being nervous about it? I felt like such an idiot. If it was going to be anything like our date from the night before, then it would go perfectly well.

"Pull yourself together, Tegan, otherwise you're never going to get that title shot," I growled to myself, my eyes on my own in the mirror, "All you have to do is act like you did earlier, and it's all good."

Now I felt like an even bigger idiot for talking to myself about it... but at least it helped a little. The shot at Nattie's title fresh in my mind, a small smile grew across my lips. I could do this, I _knew _I could. It was only Nic, after all. At first I hadn't wanted to even speak to the guy, never mind anything else, but he hadn't turned out as bad as I had thought. Surely I could make him fall in love with me in twenty seven days? It could have been worse, anyway. It could have been someone like The Great Khali.

I took another look at myself in the mirror, and my smile grew. I had to admit, to say I had had only half an hour to get ready, I looked pretty damn good. I was wearing a low cut black tank top, low rising white jeans and black peep toe stilettos. My fiery red hair was curled to perfection... a little something I had took from my best friend.

With a small sigh, I pushed all of my thoughts to the back of my mind as I looked at my phone, realising I was already around five minutes late. Picking up everything that I needed and shoving them in my small handbag, I quickly turned off the hotel light and closed the door behind me.

Only a few minutes later I was climbing out of the lift and walking into the hotel lobby, my nerves completely hidden as I walked across the tiled floor confidently. I had already spotted the group of people waiting, noticing that I was the only one they were still waiting for. John and Zack were stood talking to Nic, while Nattie stood beside them looking extremely awkward. I had to chuckle at the expression on her face when she saw me. I was sure I was going to be in for a mouthful when we finally had a moment to ourselves.

"Hey guys," I grinned as I reached them, looking at each, leaving Nic till last. I took in everything about him, from head to toe, and despite everything I had told myself about this only being a bet; I couldn't help but admire him. Everything about him was just so damn sexy. From his slick blonde hair, to his tight white t-shirt, to his grey jeans that left _nothing _to the imagination. I reminded myself to thank Nattie later for picking someone that looked like him, "Nic," I smiled his way as I walked over and gave him a long hug.

"Tegan," He looked me up and down when I finally pulled away, his eyes wide as he took in my outfit, "You look... wow."

I chuckled lightly, a smirk growing across my lips as I quickly caught Nattie's eye and winked at her. She scowled back, making me laugh even more. Poor best friend, she really had no idea what she'd agreed to.

"Thanks, you look pretty good yourself," I flirted back, before I turned to look at the other three, "Okay, are we all ready?"

With a quick chorus of yes, John, Zack and Nattie began to leave first, leaving behind only myself and Nic. The fact that he liked how I looked right now gave me that extra boost of confidence, and I wondered why I had ever been nervous in the first place.

"Shall we?" He grinned at me, holding out his arm.

"We shall," I winked his way, linking arms with him before we quickly followed the other three to the taxi that was already waiting for us.

* * *

**Nic**

"Everything okay for you, babe?" I asked, scooting even closer to Tegan who was sat beside me in the restaurant booth, happily eating away at her salad and tortilla wrap. She looked up my way, a smudge of sauce on her lip, and I couldn't help but chuckle.

"Fine, thank you," She grinned back, although it quickly turned to a frown when she noticed me still laughing, "What? What is it?" She asked, her voice turning panicky.

"It's okay," I shook my head, reassuring her as I ever so slowly lifted my hand and wiped away the sauce with the pad of my thumb. If I knew anything about girls, I knew that they loved moments like this. Just like all the romantic crap in the movies, "You just had a little sauce."

"Oh..." She cringed and turned away to look at her food, and I chuckled again, finding it cute that she was embarrassed.

The smile slowly slipped away from my face as I realised where my thoughts had yet again been going. Cute? What the hell was I doing? I had to stop thinking of Tegan as being cute, or anything else for that matter. She was most likely going to hate me forever after the bet was done, so I couldn't allow myself to get attached.

"I think... I'm just going to nip to the ladies," She spoke up, interrupting my thoughts. I turned to see her placing her napkin on the table, before looking over the opposite side at her blonde friend, "Nattie?" She asked, not waiting for an answer before she turned back to me with a small smile, "I'll be two minutes."

"I'll be counting," I smirked her way, which she returned before she finally left the table with Nattie.

"Get in there, Nic," Zack spoke up the minute they were out of earshot, and I turned towards them, a triumphant grin on my features.

"Uh-huh," I rose an eyebrow towards John, silently loving his blank stare in return, "Who's the man?"

"You really are," Zack added again, holding his hand out towards me. I grinned again, slapping it over the table, before I held it out to John.

"Come on, Jomo... don't leave me hanging," I teased, laughing as his expression changed to annoyance.

"Whatever," He scowled, pushing my hand away roughly, "You might be laughing now, Ziggles, but there's a long way to go yet. Wait till she sees what you're _really _like. You still have a hell of a long way to go yet, and believe me, the more time you spend with each other, the harder it's going to get."

God, why did he _always _have to plant a seed of doubt in my mind? Why did he _always_ have to have a point? I hated that he was such a damn smartass. What he was pointing out was the truth. Tegan and I barely even knew each other yet, and we'd been on one date... how did I truly know what she was like? What if she really was the total bitch that I'd first thought, and she was going to go psycho on me when we started spending more time together? What if she hated who I was in a few weeks time?

What if I ended up losing the bet? I'd never lost anything before in my life... in fact, until now; I'd never even doubted losing something. But with Tegan as the thing to conquer, this wasn't like anything else I had ever done.

"Don't listen to him, man. You're doing well," Zack broke the silence, nodding encouragingly my way as he bit into his bread roll.

I nodded his way, giving him the smallest of smirks as I looked down at my own half eaten taco and began to push it around my plate, my appetite suddenly gone. I wanted to take Zack's advice, I wanted to be able to tell myself that I was doing well... but I knew better than anyone now, after John's speech, that I wasn't doing well enough.

I hadn't spent much time with Tegan yet, but I already knew that she wasn't going to be the type of girl that would jump in bed with me after two or three dates. She was going to want to take it slow, she was going to want a real relationship... but that was one thing I didn't know if I'd be able to do. Me, in a relationship? That just wasn't who I was... and I was worried that if I didn't give that to her, she wasn't going to want anything to do with me.

* * *

**Tegan**

I twisted my lips to the side as Nic and I walked through the corridor that led to my hotel room in silence, wondering what I could possibly say to end the awkwardness that had hung over us the entire way home. In fact, ever since I had returned from the bathroom with Nattie, he had been far too quiet for him.

"So, this is me..." I spoke with a sigh, grateful that we had made it to my room so I finally had something to say to him.

"Okay, err..." He stuttered, running a hand through his blonde hair. I frowned, my patience beginning to grow thin. If there was something wrong, if he wasn't happy, why didn't he say anything?

"Alright, what is it?" I asked, turning so that I was stood directly in front of him and folding my arms across my chest.

"What's what?" He asked, his eyes growing wide.

"You," I wafted a hand towards him, "You've barely said a word to me in the last hour... so what is it? Did something happen? Did you not... have a good time?" I cringed, hoping that wasn't the answer. If he hadn't, then I couldn't force him to go out with me again... and the entire bet would be over with.

"No, it's not that," He added quickly, shaking his head back and forth, "It's nothing to do with you, Tegan. I had an amazing time again tonight... I'm just pissed off at Jomo, that's all." He shrugged.

"You are?" I asked with a frown, to which he nodded. I sighed to myself, wondering what I was supposed to do now. I had never been one for comforting people, "Do you want to talk about it?" I asked, gently resting a hand on his forearm.

"Thanks Tee..." He tilted his head, as if to ask if it was okay to call me that, and I smiled in return, "But I'm okay. I'd rather just forget about it," He shrugged, before that all too familiar smirk of his returned, "So, did _you _have fun tonight?"

"No..." I let my sentence trail off and I watched on, amused, as his eyes grew wide. As much as I loved being able to torture him like that, I couldn't help but laugh quickly after, shaking my head, "I'm joking, Nic. I had a great time. Actually, I'd love to do it again... if you want to, of course?"

I waited for his answer, praying that he was going to agree to another date. I couldn't bear the thought of not getting the title shot from Nattie now that it was in my grasp.

"Seriously?" He asked, and I looked up into his pretty blue eyes to see him staring at me in surprise, "You wanna do something again?"

"Yes, Nic," I chuckled, "Don't look so surprised. Are you doing anything tomorrow? Because I have the entire day free, if you'd like to do something then?"

I hated that I had ended up asking him out on another date, rather than the opposite way around. I didn't want to be the one that pushed everything; he needed to show me that he was interested, too.

"Tomorrow sounds great," He finally nodded back. His cute grin returned and I couldn't help but send back, "I'll come pick you up in the morning... nine sound okay?"

I looked down at my watch and groaned, noticing that it wasn't far off midnight... but I couldn't exactly say no. As much as I wanted sleep, I wanted the title more.

"Nine sounds perfect," I looked up again, sending him a sweet smile, "I'll see you then?"

"Okay," He nodded once again, and I waited not so patiently to see what was going to happen next. It was the end of our second date... surely a kiss wasn't too farfetched? "I'll see you tomorrow, Tee," He added, breaking the silence, before he sent me one last smirk and walked away.

I watched on as he carried on down the corridor, glaring at his perfectly formed back as he went. Was it really too much to ask for one kiss? I knew I shouldn't have been getting frustrated; things were going much better than I had ever anticipated... but still, tomorrow took me to twenty six days and counting. I was going to have to move a hell of a lot faster if I was going to make him fall in love with me before then.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Hey guys! Big thanks go to **_Bubblyjayy, xHalosandwings, nikki1335, hardyrhodescenafan1, miamitravel _**and **_beautifultragedyxxx _**for reviewing the last chapter, I love you guys!**

**I actually really like this one; it's my favourite of this story so far, so hopefully you'll all like it as well. Please don't forget to leave feedback when you're done!**

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Chapter 5

**Tegan**

"So, where exactly are we going, Nic?" I spoke up in between a yawn, turning my head sideways to see him watching the road intently.

"No matter how many times you ask, I'm not telling," He shook his head, grinning as he kept his eyes forward.

I glared at him, wondering why it had to be such a damn big secret. I had gotten up far too early for this entire day 'date' that we were going to have, the least he could do was tell me where it was we were going to be spending it. I looked down at my simple black jeans and Rolling Stones t-shirt, hoping that I wasn't underdressed...

"You look fine, quit worrying."

My eyes narrowed even further as I watched him, his smirk not leaving his face. It was fine for him to say, he was a guy... and besides, he could wear the scruffiest clothes he owned and make them look good, looking like he did.

"Yeah, well, maybe I would if you'd tell me where we're going..."

"You'll see, around about... now," He nodded forward, and I turned to see him pulling into a huge car park, my eyes growing slightly wide as I saw where we were.

"Theme park?" I turned to him, a small smile growing on my lips.

"Yeah," He rolled the car to a stop, before he pulled the keys from the ignition, "That's okay, right? I mean, I would have taken you to dinner and a movie, but you didn't strike me as that kind of girl..." He trailed off, looking slightly worried.

I frowned, wondering how he seemed to know just what type of girl I was. How had he known that I hated the traditional dates of going to see a cheesy romance film then going to some flash restaurant? And how the hell did he know that I loved theme parks? It was like he could read my mind, or something. I seriously hoped it was something, because if he could read my mind, I was going to be in serious trouble.

"No, its fine," I shook my head, smiling at him, "I love theme parks."

"Good, so do I," He nodded with that damn smirk of his. I hated the uneasy feeling that was beginning to grow in my stomach every time he looked at me like that, "Shall we?"

"Sure," I coughed, making a break to get out of the car. _What the hell are you doing, Tegan? Stop thinking about him like that and get on with what you're there for._

* * *

**Nic**

A few hours after arriving, we had already been on every single ride there was to offer, except for one. I smirked as we stood in line to the huge rollercoaster, my eyes not leaving the girl stood beside me. She had been up for anything that I had taken her on so far, but when I mentioned this, her eyes had grown wide.

"We can go on something else again, if you'd like? We haven't got to go on it if you're scared," I shook my head, trying not to sound too amused at how she was acting, but my eyes kept falling to her Rolling Stones t-shirt and I couldn't help my myself. I loved that she was a tough rocker chick on the outside, but on the inside she was just a big well, girl.

She noticed my amused expression instantly, and a quick glare grew on her features. I chuckled to myself, shaking my head back and forth. This girl was as stubborn as I was.

"No way. It's the last one, we've got to try everything... even if it does go upside down," She mumbled.

So that's why she didn't like it. I smiled again, inching closer to her and wrapping my arm around her shoulder. Despite how much she had proved me wrong over the past few days, I was surprised when she didn't pull away from me. In fact, I was sure she moved a little closer.

"It's okay, I'll take care of you," I grinned down at her, and she rolled her eyes playfully.

We didn't have any more time to joke around as the ride pulled to a stop and the people began to climb off. Shortly after the line in front of us disappeared, we climbed into one of the carts ourselves. I waited until the workers had secured us in before I looked to the side, not being able to hide my chuckle at the look of terror on Tegan's face.

"Hey, you okay? Are you sure you don't want to get off while we still have the chance?"

"No, I'm fine," I heard her squeak, and I laughed again.

As I listened to her frightened tone, an idea came to mind, and my smirk returned. I pulled the hand closer to her off of the padded bars holding down my shoulders, and held it out towards her. So perhaps it was only hand holding, but we had to start somewhere.

Within seconds she took a hold of it, grasping tightly. I turned to look at her as best as I could, sending her a triumphant smile, although I hoped she saw it more as an encouraging one.

"Don't worry, Tee, I'll..." I didn't have time to finish my sentence. The rollercoaster started up at full speed, leaving me breathless. I had to fight the urge to let go of Tegan's hand and grip on for my life, but I couldn't back out now. Not only did I have to hide the fact that I was scared shitless too, but we'd finally got past the no touching rule. It wasn't going to be long now until we passed the no kissing one, too.

* * *

"You're still white, Tegan. Maybe we should do something a little less... active," I cringed as I looked down at her, realising that maybe taking her on the ride wasn't such a good idea after all. It had been ten minutes since we had gotten off yet she still look like she could puke any second. The last thing I needed was for her to upchuck; she'd never want to go out with me again.

"No, I'm okay, really..." She looked at the pirate ship that we were stood next to, and if it were possible, she seemed to get even paler, "Okay, maybe we should wait just a little while before we go on anything again."

"Yeah, I think that's a good idea," I laughed lighting as I wrapped my arm around her shoulder again and turned her to look at the other activities around us. I grinned as I spotted something that I hadn't tried since I was a kid, and pointed to it with my free hand. "What do you say?"

"Hook a duck?" Her eyes grew wide and she grinned up at me like an excited child, "Can we? I haven't done that in forever!"

I grinned as I pulled away from her slightly, only to hold my hand out towards her again. I watched a flicker of doubt cross over her face, before it was replaced with a small smile. She looked up into my eyes, before slipping her fingers through my own. I felt like a damn little kid again, but I was giddy when she squeezed my hand lightly. I was finally getting somewhere. I was one step closer to that $500...

Or, that's what I was telling myself was the reason I was happy, anyway.

I dragged her over to the fairground stalls, stopping as we reached the one we wanted and paying for two goes each. I let Tegan go first, a small smile playing on my lips as I watched her frown when she came up with an un-numbered duck each time.

"Too bad," I winked her way, laughing at her glare, "Give it here, I'll show you how it's done," I sighed, holding out my hand for the stick.

"Please," She rolled her eyes, trying to hide her grin as she thrust it into my hand.

I rose an amused eyebrow her way, waiting till she moved slightly out of the way before I hooked my first duck... getting the top prize straight away. I turned to her with a victorious grin.

"You cheated," She pouted, moving to stand directly in front of me.

"Me, cheat?" I gave her a fake look of horror, before I laughed lightly, nodding towards the huge bears that were hanging from the stall, "So, which do you want?"

"What?" She asked with wide eyes. She looked up, scanning them, before turning back to me, "For me, really?"

"Of course," I nodded. Did she really think that it was going to be for me?

"Nic!" She grinned happily, taking me by complete surprise as she flung her arms around my neck and hugged me tightly. I smirked against her, resting my hands on her hips, "Thank you!" She exclaimed as she pulled away, folding her arm through mine as she looked back up at the bears, before finally pointing to a huge tiger. We watched as the man at the store struggled to pull it down, before handing it over to us.

"Cute," I spoke as I picked it up and inspected it, before looking back to Tegan, "How are you feeling? You look a little better now," I noticed that the colour was slowly beginning to return to her cheeks.

"I'm okay, thank you."

"Are you hungry or anything? There's a few stands over there, if you'd like something," I nodded towards the food stalls, inwardly cringing at the thought of having to eat a cheeseburger. I'd have so much working out to do afterwards so that it didn't go to my abs.

"Hmm..." She scanned them all, scrunching up her nose, before she spotted the last one and smiled, "Ice cream? I don't think I could stomach any of that greasy stuff."

"Ice cream sounds perfect," I nodded. I guess that wasn't so bad...

A few minutes later, the pair of us were sitting in a comfortable silence on a nearby bench, eating our treats as we looked around at the buzzing crowd. I was thankful that nobody had recognised us up to yet. It wasn't that I didn't like spending time with fans, or giving them a photo and autograph, but I was spending time with Tegan now. I was there to make her happy, and her alone... how else was I going to earn my money?

I turned sideways as I finished off my food, a chuckle leaving my lips as I spotted the huge blob of ice cream on Tegan's nose.

"What?" She asked instantly with a frown.

"You and your food," I shook my head with a playfully sigh. Only yesterday I had had to do this for her at the restaurant. I inched towards her, lifting my hand slowly and wiping away the ice cream with my thumb... but this time, I didn't move away. I slowly ran my fingers across her face, until I cupped her cheek with my entire hand. My eyes connected with hers, and I realised for the first time how amazingly green they were.

"Nic..." She whispered, and I could feel my heart thumping in my chest at the sound of her speaking my name. What the fuck? What was getting into me? I didn't get nervous about kissing; I didn't get nervous about _anything _when it came to girls.

"Hmm..." I mumbled, my eyes never leaving hers as I moved forward that tiny bit more, until our faces were nearly touching.

"You're squashing my tiger."

"Oh," I answered blandly, pulling away from her and lifting the tiger onto my lap. Damn teddy... It'd been a pretty good idea until now.

Another moment of silence passed between us, but this time it was the awkward kind. I cursed myself for making a move... how many times did I have to tell myself she wasn't like other girls? She wasn't just gonna give it up to me after a day of my charm. I was going to have to work my ass off to get what I wanted from her.

"So..." She spoke up, trying to make conversation, "I'm feeling fine now, you wanna go on a few rides again?"

"Sure," I nodded with a small smile, thankful for the distraction. I wasn't going to let her decline get me down. I'd just try a whole lot better the next time, "We've got another buddy joining us this time, though," I grinned as I stood up with the bear under my arm, holding my hand out to her.

"Uh-huh," She rolled her eyes playfully as she took it and stood up, looking between me and the tiger, "Well, I hope you know you're paying for him," She smiled sweetly before she began to walk off.

I sighed, shaking my head back and forth as I watched her go, her hips swaying and her fiery hair blowing in the slight breeze. So maybe she wasn't the psycho girl I had first thought, but she was still going to be damn hard work.

* * *

**Tegan**

I let out a sigh of contentment as Nic and I stepped off of the lift together and walked down the hotel corridor towards my room. We hadn't stopped out late, it was only just gone 8pm, but the theme park had closed and seeing as we were both beat, we had decided to call it a night.

"I'm so glad we haven't got to wrestle tonight," I spoke between a yawn, grinning at him with a sideways glance.

"I know, me too," He nodded in agreement, "It'll be good to get an early night for a change, actually."

"It really will," I sighed lightly, the awkward silence beginning to creep over us again as we reached my room.

I felt like an idiot after our moment earlier, which I had interrupted because he had been 'squashing my tiger'. Seriously? Could I have been any unstealthier? And why the hell had I done that in the first place, anyway? I wanted – needed – him to kiss me.

"Thank you so much for today, Nic," I smiled up at him, amused as he still held my teddy in his arms, "I had a really good time."

"Me too," He nodded, holding out the tiger, "I believe this belongs to you."

"Thanks," I chuckled as I took it from him, before placing it down on the floor in front of my door.

I looked back his way, taking in his gorgeous blue eyes, knowing what I had to do... but how I was going to was a totally different story. I had already stopped our near kiss not too long ago, how was I supposed to turn that back around?

"So, I was, umm, wondering..." I inched forward, taking a hold of his hands in mine.

"Wondering...?" He rose an eyebrow, smiling lightly as he looked down at our hands joined together.

"Earlier on, when I got ice cream on my face, you were going to try something... but I kinda interrupted," I shrugged, feeling like a fool, "I was just wondering, you know, if you'd like to try it again?"

It took him a minute to realise what I meant, but I could tell when it finally sunk in. His eyes grew wide with surprise, as if this was the last thing he'd expected.

"Really?"

"Really," I nodded with a small smile.

He waited a few moments to see if I was being serious, so I nodded his way in encouragement. A small smirk grew on his lips then, before he let go of my hands and lifted them to cup my face for the second time that day. He stared into my eyes for what felt like an eternity, before he ever so slowly inched forward and pressed his lips against mine lightly.

It could barely be classed as a kiss, his touch was as light as a feather, probably still trying to work out whether this was what I really wanted. I leaned into his touch, lifting my own hands to wrap around his neck and pull him closer to me, deepening the kiss. His tongue ran along my bottom lip and I shivered, allowing him to explore my mouth. God, he was a good kisser...

As much as I wanted to continue, as much as I wanted to ask him back into my room, I made myself gently pull away. I didn't make it too obvious; I didn't want him to think I was turning him down or anything, more like coming up for air.

"Urr, wow," He grinned, his nose still pressed against my own, "That was..."

"Yeah," I chuckled, nodded lightly, "It was."

"Can I see you again tomorrow?" He asked, pulling away ever so lightly so that he could get a good view of my face.

I bit my lip lightly, asking myself that question. Could he see me tomorrow? The Tegan that wanted the title shot, that had made the bet in the first place, wanted nothing more than to see him every day until he fell in love with me... but the other part of me, the one that actually had a heart, was terrified to see him again... especially after what I had just felt kissing him.

I couldn't allow myself to fall for him. Maybe he wasn't the idiot guy I had first thought he'd be, but I still couldn't let myself like him. What if he ended up finding out about the bet? He'd end up breaking my heart...

"Tee?" He whispered, and I refocused to see him looking at me with those big puppy dog eyes full with concern. Damn him to the depths of hell.

"Of course," I nodded, hating myself. I was somehow just going to have to turn off that switch that I'd managed to do before, so that I didn't feel anything at all towards him... so that the only thing I cared about was that title shot, "Just come by whenever you want, I'll be here."

"Okay," He nodded reluctantly, "I'll see you soon," He cooed, leaning in and giving me a quick, sweet kiss.

"Bye, Nic," I smiled, watching as he pulled away from me and walked back down the corridor, my heart still beating ten times too fast a long time after I had picked up my tiger and entered my room.

* * *

**Nic**

I jumped back into the lift, a smirk glued to my features as I ran over the kiss that Teegan and I had just shared in my head. Man, to say she was a crazy girl who probably hadn't had much action; she was damn good at kissing...

And not to mention a hell of a lot easier than I had expected. After she had turned me down earlier, I had never imagined in a million years getting a kiss out of her yet... but I had, and it had been pretty heated, too.

I wondered to myself if this meant that she was my 'girlfriend' now. I pulled a face, knowing that was a conversation we still had to have... although now that we were finally getting somewhere, I wasn't as worried about it as before. I'd never been in a real relationship before, what was the point when it was easier to have a different girl any chance that I got? But now, with Tegan, if that was what it was going to take to get her into bed... then so be it.

I stepped out onto my floor shortly after, my smile still present as I let myself into my room and got ready for bed. I couldn't wait to tell John about what had just happened. I'd find him as soon as I could so I could rub the kiss in that fuckers face... but it wouldn't be tomorrow. That was going to be reserved for Tegan, so that I could spend another whole day wooing myself into her heart, and more importantly, her pants.


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey guys! Big thanks go to **_hardyrhodescenafan1, xHalosandwings, Bubblyjayy, beautifultragedyxxx, writerprincess94 _**and **_nikki1335 _**for reviewing the last chapter, you're all fab!**

**This one is pretty short as it's only really a filler, but I'm kinda happy with how it turned out so hopefully you all will be too. Please don't forget to leave feedback once you've read!**

* * *

Chapter 6

**Tegan**

The next few days passed by quickly, but I didn't let it get me down. I now only had twenty two days to make Nic fall in love with me... but as the pair of us walked through the busy corridor of the arena where Smackdown was about to take place, a confident smile was present on my lips. I had just over three weeks left, but after our date and the moment we had shared afterwards, I knew that I had plenty of time left.

"What are you smirking at?"

I felt a squeeze of pressure on my hand, and I looked down to see Nic's fingers entwined with mine. I lifted my eyes to his, my smile returning as I saw him grinning back my way in wonder.

"Oh, nothing," I shrugged, nudging him playfully with my shoulder, "Just happy, I guess."

It wasn't like I was lying to him, because I _was _happy. For the first time in a long time, I was actually enjoying my life. A title shot was just around the corner for me now, no thanks to Nattie... and not to mention the guy next to me.

I studied Nic in silence, wondering if he had any idea what was really happening. A fist clenched my heart at the thought of him thinking this was real... or that he really, truly liked me. My smile quickly disappeared as the guilt began to grow. At first I hadn't cared at all about him or his feelings, but he wasn't the man I had thought he was back then. He was funny, cute, kind... and I was going to hurt him.

But I couldn't end it now, not after everything I'd already accomplished. Besides, if I backed out after our last few days, he was bound to know something wasn't right.

"It's good to see you happy," He smiled again, oblivious to my change in mood. I nodded, trying to return to my happy state, "Do you have any idea what you're doing for the show tonight?"

"No," I shook my head, grateful for the subject change, "I usually get my schedule when I get here. My PR has a whole bunch of people to deal with, and I think she leaves me till last. What about you?"

"Yeah... some stuff with Vickie," He rose an eyebrow, and my genuine smile slowly grew across my lips.

"Oh yeah, what kind of stuff is that?"

"Do you really want to know?" He eyed me, and I nodded with a chuckle, "Let's just say, it involves the smallest pair of jean shorts I've ever seen and a tool belt..." He mumbled as we stopped outside the women's locker room.

"Seriously? That sounds... interesting. As long as it's you wearing them, of course," I smirked as he span around to face me and automatically rested his hands against my hips. It was strange how accustomed I'd become to his touchy feely attitude in just a few days. I hadn't been high on it at all before we had been to the theme park, but now? I didn't really mind it if he wanted to hold my hand, or my waist... in fact, I kinda liked it.

"I'm glad you find it funny," He tilted his head, his amused expression not matching his words. I rolled my eyes playfully his way, "Anyway, I should go, I'm up pretty early..." He sighed, his smile quickly disappearing.

"Okay," I nodded, "Be careful, okay?"

"I always am," He half smiled, before he lifted his hands and took a hold of my face between them. His blue eyes bored into mine, and I could feel my cheeks burning under his touch. Damn him and his gorgeous looks, "I'll see you later, yeah?"

"I'll be waiting," I winked.

He chuckled lightly himself, shaking his head back and forth before he stepped forward and pressed his lips against my own. It was nothing like the kiss we had shared a few days ago, it was more sweet than fiery... but it was no less perfect.

He pulled away from me without a word, sending me a wink of his own, before he secured the gym bag on his shoulder and walked away, leaving me standing in the same position as I tried to catch my breath.

I leaned against the wall behind me and closed my eyes, dread filling me. I couldn't allow myself to feel that way... I couldn't go weak at the knees when he kissed me, or be disappointed when he went away. It was a bet, for god's sake.

"Umm, what the hell?"

I shot up from the wall, composing myself within seconds as I turned towards the familiar voice, allowing a triumphant smirk to grow across my lips.

"What's wrong, Nattie?" I asked with a grin.

"I, you and Nic..." She pointed to where he'd just walked down the corridor, and realisation hit me. I nodded her way, smiling.

"Me and Nic kissed? Yeah, I know... and it wasn't the first time."

"But... how?" She looked utterly confused as she closed the gap between us, "You're a bitch, and he's... an ass."

"Excuse me, I'll have you know that I can actually be nice when I want to be," I crossed my arms over my chest, raising an eyebrow her way, "As for Nic, he isn't as bad as you'd think... so buddy, you better make the most of this," I reached out and patted the belt on her shoulder, grinning like a fool before I reached out and opened up the locker room door.

The pair of us stayed silent as we got ready for the night ahead. I could tell by Natalya's expression that she was completely miffed at how well I was doing, so I tried my best to hide what I was thinking deep down inside.

I couldn't quite believe how well things were going myself... but that wasn't the thing that had my stomach twisted in knots. Nic not being the ass we'd thought was a nice surprise at first, but now? I kind of wished that he was one. It would have made things so much easier for me... I wouldn't have been worried about what was going to happen about the bet, I wouldn't have cared how cute I thought he was, I wouldn't have been worried about putting on an act ...

But was it really all an act? I'd been Tegan the bitch for so long; I didn't know what was what anymore. Maybe that wasn't really me. Maybe Nic had found the real me deep down inside, and the girl I had been before had been the act?

Whatever it was, I knew I was in deep shit. I was going to have to work something out, or at least control my damn feelings before everything ended up going pear shaped and I had absolutely nothing good coming out of it.

* * *

**Nic**

I couldn't stop grinning as I walked through the corridors, staring down at the piece of paper in my hand that told me about my schedule for the night. Not only were things going well with Tegan, but I was finally getting the push that I deserved, too. So I had to spend a hell of a lot of time with Vickie Guerrero to get there, but it was worth it.

"Yo man, wait up," A familiar voice shouted from behind, and I span to see Zack and John sauntering over to me. I rolled my eyes slightly, but my good mood didn't falter. Even the ass wipe known as Jomo couldn't put a damper on my spirits at the moment.

"Where's your girl?" He smirked as he reached me, Zack still by his side. I let out a small sigh, my smile faltering for the first time that day.

"She's getting ready for her match... and if you'll excuse me, that's what I'm going to do, too," I shrugged, trying to back away from them. The last thing I needed after having such a good day was this idiot ruining it for me.

"Not so fast, Nic," Zack shook his head, smiling at me like a goof, "How's everything going? How'd the date go?"

"Date?" John rose an eyebrow my way, and Zack nodded enthusiastically. I rolled my eyes again, wondering why he couldn't keep his big mouth shut. I'd told him about my date in confidence because I didn't want Jomo to start criticising my strategy, or anything else to do with it for that matter... but now it was out in the open, I might as well tell him about it. It had been a success, after all.

"It went well, man," I nodded, my famous smirk growing across my lips as I looked between the two of them, "I told you she didn't want to be wined and dined like normal girls, she loved the theme park... so much that I got a little action afterwards, if you know what I mean," I winked, and a flash of horror crossed over John's face. I had to refrain from bursting out laughing at his look. I couldn't wait to see how he'd look when I finally sealed the deal.

"You mean..."

"Relax, it was just a kiss..." I trailed off, smirking again, "But I've gotta admit, it was pretty damn hot, and we're only one week into the bet."

"What's that got to do with it?" John asked, eyes narrow.

"Well, I have three weeks left," I shrugged, pulling my bag strap further on my shoulder, "Do you know how easy it's going to be with that amount of time left? Hell, I don't even think I need that long. I could get her to sleep with me in the next week."

"Oh really?"

"Do you know who you're talking too?" I raised an eyebrow, folding my arms over my chest. I had thought that he would have realised by now that I'd lived up to my reputation. Hell, in the entire time Tegan had been in the business, I was about the only guy that had ever managed to have a real conversation with her, never mind date her.

"Alright then, do you want to shorten the bet? That shouldn't be a problem, seeing as you've got her wrapped around your little finger and all."

My smirk disappeared instantly, and a sneer replaced it. I glared his way, hating him for always having something to say to all my remarks. I was merely telling him how well things were going, yet he still managed to twist it around to suit him.

"Didn't think so, Ziggles," He chuckled, patting my shoulder. I nudged him off harshly, "Not so confident now, are we?"

"Shut up, John," I spat back, moving away from him slightly. I knew I had to get away from him soon before I ended up punching his lights out, "We agreed to a month, so I get a month, whether I need it or not. You coming, Zack?" I raised an eyebrow his way, before I wasted no more time in walking away from the two men.

"Don't listen to him, Nic," Zack spoke up as he reached my side, shaking his head back and forth. I shot him a glare, still fuming, but I sighed as I realised he was only trying to help. At least one of my friends was, "You're doing great, man. Nobody has been able to get as far as you have with Tegan, so don't worry about it. You'll be getting intimate in no time," He winked with a grin.

I nodded his way, realising that he was right as a slight smirk returned to my lips. Why should I be worried about what John was saying, when I myself knew that I was doing good? In fact, I was doing better than good – I was doing great. I didn't need to worry about what he was saying, because deep down I knew he was only doing it because he was worried.

He was worried that I was one step closer to winning the bet and $500 out of his own pocket, and as the thought hit me, I knew that I'd do anything just to take that money from him – just to be able to say that I had won and he had lost.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Hey guys! Big thanks go to **_Bubblyjayy, xHalosandwings, hardyrhodescenafan1, nikki1335 _**and **_beautifultragedyxxx _**for reviewing the last chapter, I love you all!**

**I actually wrote chapter 7 and what will be chapter 8 as one... but it was getting way too long so I decided to split them up. The only problem is that this one is a little short now but I promise the next one will make up for it action (in more ways than one) so make sure you all stick around!**

**Here's the next one, anyways. Hope you all like and please don't forget to leave feedback.**

* * *

Chapter 7

**Nic**

Time was passing quickly. Too quickly, for my liking. Another few days had been and gone since Smackdown, and barely anything had happened between Tegan and myself. In fact, apart from taking her back to the hotel that night, we'd barely even had the chance to speak to each other with our busy schedules. I'd spent the majority of the day before at a meet and greet, and although I didn't mind spending time with fans, it couldn't have come at a worse time.

I stepped out of the lift, a groan escaping my lips as I stretched my arms above my head, letting out a yawn shortly after. It was barely 7am yet I was already awake and making my way to the hotel gym for my workout. I didn't usually get up so early, but I wanted to get in an extra hour. I had to look good for Tee; otherwise we really weren't going to get past first base.

I pushed open the glass door that lead to the plush room, and a smile grew across my face at the flash of red I spotted across the room. We were only a few hours in to the day and I'd already found her. Today was going to be the day, I knew it.

I slowly inched towards the treadmills where Tegan was running, careful not to get in her line of site so that I could surprise her. I smirked once again as I noticed the headphones she was wearing, her face deep in concentration. She had absolutely no idea of her surroundings, even when I was stood directly beside her.

I dropped my gym bag beside me and crossed my arms over my chest, my eyes running up and down her curvaceous body. She was dressed in tight black running shorts and a light green tank top that clung to her as she ran; her slight muscles were showing through her clothing. Her hair was tied up in a messy ponytail, and her face was covered in a glistening of sweat... and she was absolutely mesmerising.

She really was like nobody I'd ever met. All the other Divas, and women, for that matter, that I'd known, would have been plastered in make-up even just to go to the gym. They would have straightened their hair perfectly and been dressed in some ridiculous furry tracksuit... but not Tegan. She was more bothered about keeping fit and being right for her job than looking perfect.

"Would you like a picture?" A voice cut through my thoughts, and my eyes focused on hers to see her looking my way, smirking, her headphones now hanging down the front of her shirt.

My eyes grew wide, and a slow blush grew across my cheeks at being caught gaping at her. Man, what was wrong with me? I didn't get embarrassed, especially when it came to girls.

"Hmm, I'd love one," I quickly added, grinning as I walked over to the front of the treadmill and rested my hands on the bar, watching as she slowed it down until it eventually stopped, "Nothing like seeing my girl working out to get me hot under the collar," I winked playfully.

Tegan's eyes grew wide, and I froze, realising what had slipped from my mouth. _My girl_. Crap, was it too early for that? I prayed to God that it wasn't, and that I hadn't just fucked things up big time. I needed her to agree to being in a 'relationship' with me now. Time was passing too quickly for us to not be an item, or a fake one, at least.

I watched on, my stomach twisting as she jumped down from the treadmill and walked over to stand in front of me, her face showing no expression what so ever. Why did she have to be so good at hiding her damn emotions?

"You're girl, huh?" She tilted her head to the side, her eyebrow raised, and ever so slowly a smile began to grow across her lips.

I smiled ever so lightly, reaching out to take a hold of her hands. If this had been any other time, I would have pulled her towards me and kissed her until she swooned... but for once, that wasn't what I needed to do to impress a girl. I needed to be romantic – if romance even lived inside my veins, that was.

"I don't know," I shrugged, making sure I kept eye contact. I looked into her beautiful green orbs and suddenly felt my confidence from earlier slip away, and be replaced by a huge batch of nerves. So, this might have all been for a bet, but it was still as scary as hell, having to ask her to be mine. I'd never done that with anyone before in my life, "That depends what you think. I've been meaning to talk to you about this for the past few days, and although this wasn't exactly the place I'd planned it, I might as well seeing as I brought it up," I sighed, squeezing her hands ever so slightly before I continued, "I like you, Tegan... and I mean _really _like you. It's not every day that you find someone so perfectly suited to you, but I have – with you. So you see, I was wondering if... you'd want to be my girlfriend?"

An instant smirk grew across her lips, and I inwardly pulled a face, knowing how lame I'd just sounded. Why hadn't I been able to lay on my charm like usual? And why the hell had I been so damn nervous and messed the most important part of the bet up yet?

"Your girlfriend? Hmm, well I don't know, you see..." She trailed off, but her voice was so real, so serious, that I felt my heart drop and my eyes grow wide. I hated that my expression was showing how I felt, but I couldn't help it, not if she was about to turn me down. Not if I'd lost the bet.

"You don't... want to?" I stuttered, hating my voice as it broke. God, I was such a wuss. As soon as this was all over, I had some serious re-characterising to do.

"No, Nic..." Her eyes were as wide as mine, until the smile ever so slowly returned. I looked at her as if she was crazy, completely confused, until a giggle broke out of her lips and she squeezed my hands, "I don't want to, I'd _love _to be your girlfriend."

"Really?" I let out a breath of relief, my own smile slowly returning as my plan began to come to together again. Maybe it hadn't gone as bad as I had thought, and I'd just been thinking the worst.

"Really," She rolled her eyes, and I laughed lightly, wasting no more time in pulling her towards me and pressing my lips against her own.

"Hmm, Nic..." She whispered against my lips as I stole kisses from her in between her words.

"Hmm?" I mumbled, my mouth trailed across her jaw line and nipping at her neck, my smirk still present as I heard the small moan leave her. Today really _was_ the day.

"We're in the middle of the gym," She answered, although her voice sounded as if she didn't really care.

"So?" I pulled away gently, grinning her way, "Let's give them something to talk about."

"Nic," She swatted me upside the head, and I playfully glared her way, making her laugh lightly again. I shook my head; her laughter was infectious, so I couldn't help but chuckle back lightly, even if I was slightly disappointed by her pulling away. I thought she might have at least invited me back to her room...

"Why did this have to happen when we're going home for a few days?"

I frowned, momentarily confused by the pout she was sending my way, until I remembered that tomorrow morning we were all flying back home or wherever for a few days rest. She was right, we'd finally moved onto the next step, and we were going to be apart for the next part of it. Great. Unless...

"Come home with me," I replied simply, more of a demand than a question.

I shocked myself with my outburst, never mind Tegan... but after I said it, my smile returned. What better way to get her into my bed than if I took her home with me?

"Are you being serious?"

"Deadly," I nodded her way.

"Nic..." Her eyebrows furrowed and her pout returned, and I sighed, knowing this wasn't going to be good. Maybe it hadn't been such a good idea, after all. "I want to, I really do, but I promised my family that I'd visit them. I already have my plane booked," She bit her lip lightly.

"Oh, well, that's cool..." I nodded, my voice bland. I wasn't happy, but I didn't want to show her just how unhappy I really was.

"Next time, though. I promise," She held out her little finger, and despite everything, I couldn't help but smile. I rolled my eyes at her playfully as I reached out and wrapped my own around it, making her laugh lightly.

"Fine, next time," I nodded, wrapping my fingers around her's again, "At least let me take you out tonight, then. Do something special for you before we go home."

"I'd love that," She cooed, leaning into me, "What time?"

"Well, we have the show and then we'll need what? An hour to get ready?" I scrunched up my face, working out the time, "So, let's say ten? I'll meet you at your room?"

"That depends, is it casual?"

"Not at all," I grinned. I'd never wanted to take her to some flash restaurant before, but she was technically my girlfriend now, so it was okay to dote on her. Besides, the more I did, the quicker she'd fall for my charm. I hoped that was going to be the case, anyway. There was only nineteen days to go.

"Make it half past," She flashed a perfect smile my way, and I nodded. She looked down at my wrist, taking a hold of my watch with her right hand, before she looked back up and pulled a reluctant face, "I'm sorry Nic, I've got to get going. I have this stupid promotional thing," She sighed.

"That's alright, I need to get a workout done anyway," I smiled lightly, finally remembering what I had been there for in the first place.

"I'll see you later?" She asked, placing a quick kiss on my lips as I nodded, "I'm in room 364."

"Alright, see you later...gorgeous," I winked, causing her to roll her eyes.

I chuckled lightly under my breath as I watched her pick up her own belongings and shove them inside her gym bag, before she came back to give me one last kiss and then disappeared from the room. A sigh escaped my lips as I walked over to my own bag and picked it up, shaking my head back and forth. I knew that if this all went well then it would pay off in the end... but it was definitely going to be hard to get to that point, especially when I was beginning to like Tegan just that little bit more each moment I spent with her.

* * *

**Tegan**

I jumped into the lift, my breath leaving me in sharp, shaky drags as I tried to stop the panic that was running through my entire frame. I pressed the button to the third floor with unsteady hands, wondering what the hell I was supposed to do now.

Not only was I now Nic's girlfriend, but he had wanted me to go home with him, too. He was really serious about this relationship... and when the month was over, I was going to break his heart. He was going to hate me, and the thought of that ripped my heart in two... because I was really beginning to like him, as well.

I knew I had wanted for something like this to happen since the moment I'd made the bet with Nattie, but I'd never thought I'd feel this way about the guy that she chose. I never thought I'd get myself in too deep.

"What are you doing, Tegan?" I asked myself, hoping that part of me somehow knew what the answer to that question was going to be. After all, I only had a few hours to sort myself out until I was back in his company again.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Hey guys! Big thanks go to **_Bubblyjayy, hardyrhodescenafan1, beautifultragedyxxx, nikki1335 _**and **_xHalosandwings _**for reviewing the last chapter, I love you guys.**

**I've had a serious Dolph fetish over the last few days or so (well, a bigger one than usual), so I ended up writing up to chapter 10 of this... which hopefully means I'll be able to get some updates up pretty quickly.**

**So, with that said, hope you like this one and please don't forget to leave feedback!**

* * *

Chapter 8

**Tegan**

"You okay, Tee? You're a little quiet. Not worried about the date, are we?"

I looked up from my phone that I was fiddling with in my hands, shooting a glare across the room at my best friend as she lay on the spare bed, an amused smirk placed on her features as she stared at the television in front of her.

I wanted to send some sarcastic comment back, to tell her that her belt was closer to being mine than ever... but after earlier on, I couldn't bring myself to say anything. After what had happened with Nic and my near panic attack in the lift on the way back up from him, I knew that what she was saying was the truth. I _was _worried about my date. Hell, no, I was _terrified_.

"No..." I trailed off, looking down at my phone again.

"Uh-huh, sure," She chuckled as she pulled herself up from the bed and walked over to me. She took a quick look at my hair and rolled her eyes. A sigh escaped her lips as she took the still warm straighteners from the table beside me and began to perfect my bangs like only she could, "How is good old Nic, anyway?"

"Nic is...fine," I hated that despite everything, despite all of my worries, the minute his name left my lips a smile grew upon them. God, what the hell was wrong with me?

My eyes refocused on my best friend, and the smile disappeared within an instant as I saw her staring my way, her own eyes wide. I could feel my stomach twisting just from the thought of what she was going to say.

"What?" I asked warily, watching as she turned off the straighteners and placed them back on the side.

"This is bad... really bad," She shook her head, her hands resting on her hips as she stared at me with a look that was both concerned and sympathetic.

"What's bad? What are you talking about, Nattie?"

"That look," She nodded towards me, "The way your face changed when you mentioned Nic's name. You like him, don't you?"

Oh crap. I cringed at her words, wondering why all of a sudden I was so transparent. Before the stupid bet and the stupid cute guy, I'd been like a damn brick wall. Now I was like a pane of extremely shatterproof glass.

"Don't be ridiculous," The laughter that followed my reply was so fake that I wouldn't have convinced a dog.

Nattie stared at me with a raised eyebrow, and I groaned to myself, turning my back so that she could no longer see my expression. I pretended to search for something on the table behind me, even though I'd already checked to make sure I had everything I needed.

"No, don't _you_ be ridiculous, Tegan," Nattie took a hold of my arm and span me back around to look at her, her expression serious, "You know that you don't have to go on with this, don't you? It's just a bet, Tee. You can't risk getting into it too deep and hurting yourself. It's not worth it if... if you feel something for him."

I stared at her with my mouth wide, wondering how I was supposed to reply to that. I knew she was right, I knew that I was getting in too deep... but the competitive side of me said something completely different, and as my eyes narrowed, that part began to conquer.

"So you're saying I should forget about the bet because I 'like' Nic?" I raised an eyebrow, "Or, are you just saying it because you know I'm gonna do it?"

"No, that's not what I meant at all," She shook her head with a frown.

"Right, sure it isn't. You know, Nattie, I know you better than you know yourself sometimes, and I know when you're worried. Right now is one of those times." I forced myself to smirk as I patted my friend on the shoulder, "But, I'm sorry my friend, the bet is still on and it will be for the next nineteen days... that's if I need that many, of course."

I was dreading her reply because I knew she was just doing to rub in my insecurity even further, or talk about Nic more... but luckily for me, that reply never came. Before she had the chance to speak, a knock echoed through the room, and Nattie looked towards me with a sigh.

"I guess that's your date. Don't have too much fun," She rolled her eyes sarcastically, but I could tell from her tone that she hadn't taken my words to heart. I guess she knew me well enough now to know that my outbursts just came with the territory.

"Oh, don't worry I will," I smirked back lightly, before I picked up my clutch bag from behind me and straightened myself out, quickly making my way over to the door afterwards, "Don't wait up for me," I chuckled over my shoulder.

"I won't be anyway, remember? I'm rooming with Beth; don't want to get in the way of you and your lover boy." I rolled my eyes at her comment, not bothering to turn around and reply. Instead I simply shook my head, before I moved forward and opened up the door.

My eyes travelled up and down the man stood before me, and all my tension instantly eased. I didn't understand how when I was with him I was absolutely fine, yet afterwards was when the panic set in...

But luckily for me, for the next few hours I wouldn't have to worry about that.

"Wow, Tee... wow," Nic laughed lightly as I closed the door behind me and walked forward, smiling slightly as he placed a kiss on my cheek, "You look amazing."

I smirked at his comment, thankful that he liked my choice of outfit. It had taken me forever to pick out my midnight blue, strapless corset dress with silver accessories. As I looked over his own clothes, his black dress pants, dress shoes and dark blue shirt I realised I had done well.

"You too," I chuckled as I lifted my hands and ran a finger across the V of bare skin where his first few buttons were undone, "We match."

"I know," He smirked back, his hands finding my waist, "Great minds think alike, huh?" He titled his head, before he leaned forward to press his lips against mine.

"Hmm, Nic..." I mumbled a few minutes later, after I'd finally began to clear my thoughts enough to realise where we were.

"Yeah?" He asked, slightly breathless as he leant his forehead against mine.

"Not that I don't want to do this, but, I didn't get this dressed up to not go anywhere," My grin slowly returned, as did his.

"Hmm, good point," He pulled away from me completely, now only holding on to one of my hands, "Come on then, you, we're gonna be late."

I nodded my head, allowing him to lead me away, but not before I took a quick glance back at the closed hotel room door. I hated how I had spoken to Nattie, even though she had been okay with me afterwards. I hated that I was so damn competitive about everything, because I knew that no matter what she said, and how truthful her words were, I wasn't going to give up the bet. I wasn't going to throw away my lifelong dream of winning the belt because of a guy who I'd only just got to know... even if he did mean more to me than anyone realised.

* * *

**Nic**

The entire ride to the restaurant I tried to make small talk with Tegan to hide what I was truly feeling. Nervous.

I'd never felt like this before when it came to a girl... so why the hell was I now? I kept telling myself that it was because I needed to impress her, that I needed to win her over for the bet... but deep down inside, I wondered whether that was the truth, or if I was just lying to myself.

"Umm, wow..." Tegan's eyes grew wide as I pulled into the car park of the flash restaurant in my rental, and a small smirk grew across my lips as I parked and turned to look her way, seeing that her eyes were wide as she looked at the building before us, "Nic, this is too much. You didn't have to..."

"No, I did," I interrupted, reaching across and taking her hand in mine, "I want you to have a great night, Tee. I want you to enjoy yourself."

Her eyebrows furrowed, and I inwardly cringed, wondering if she was going to refuse to go in there or something. It wasn't exactly her 'scene', after all... but like I had said, now that she was my girlfriend, or at least my pretend one, I wanted to make her feel special. Not to mention the more I doted on her, the quicker she'd fall for me, and the quicker I'd get her clothes off...

But after a few moments of looking at me that way, her expression changed, and a small smile grew across her lips. She quickly inched closer to me and gave me a sweet little kiss, her free hand resting on my cheek.

"Thank you," She cooed, grinning at me.

"Anything for you, babe," I smirked back, before I pulled away and left the car, quickly making my way around to open her door for her.

I helped her down from the car and locked the doors, before I took a hold of her hand again and led her into the restaurant. After telling the maitre'd my name, we waited patiently for a few moments as he worked out which table we would be seated at. I turned to look at Tegan, my smile returning as I took in everything about her. Her dark blue dress clung to her curves perfectly, and her hair had been straightened... the first time I had ever seen it that way. She looked a lot different to the everyday girl I spent my time with, but she was still absolutely gorgeous. It was strange that at first I had hated John for choosing this crazy chick, yet now I was sort of happy that he had.

It didn't take long for us to be taken to our tables and for our orders to be taken, and a few short minutes later for a bottle of white wine to arrive at our table which I had allowed Tegan to choose. I allowed the waited to poor her a glass, but my shook my head when he offered it to me. I'd never been much of a drinker; I didn't think there was cause to do something like that. I'd rather not make myself look like a complete idiot in front of others, that just wasn't what I did. Plus, I was driving. There was no way I was gonna be getting a DUI, especially when I was with Tegan.

As for her though, she seemed to be making the most of the fact that she wouldn't be driving.

"Thirsty, are we?" I raised an amused eyebrow her way as she finished her first glass of wine within five minutes. I reached for the bottle and poured her another, her cheeks growing slightly red at my words.

"I'm sorry, I..."

"Don't be stupid, Tegan," I rolled my eyes playfully. Just because I didn't like drinking, didn't mean I was going to stop her from doing it. "You can drink however much you want, don't worry about it, okay?"

"Are you sure? I don't want you spending all your money on me, Nic," She sighed, fiddling with the rim of the glass, "And it's even worse that you're not drinking, either. We can just have soda, or something, if you want..."

"Hey," I leaned forward and placed my fingers under her chin, lifting it so that she was looking into my eyes. I wasn't sure what it was, perhaps the blue of her dress, but her green orbs stood out more than ever. "I said I wanted you to enjoy yourself, didn't I? So whatever you want, you can have. Don't worry about the money... and don't worry about me."

"Fine..." She sighed, and I sent her a quick wink. Her embarrassment disappeared rather quickly then as she giggled my way, and I froze at the sound of it. Her laughter awoke something deep within me, and my eyes grew wide as I realised what it was.

Well, I _guessed _what it was, because I'd never had this feeling before. Not once had anyone made me feel like Tegan did.

Ahh crap. I was in serious trouble.

* * *

The rest of the night went relatively well... to begin with.

Tegan and I chatted like we'd known each other for years over dinner. We laughed, joked and most importantly flirted, and I really began to believe that I was actually getting somewhere with her and the bet. In fact, even as we sat in the car I still thought I had... but not in the way that I had hoped.

"Did I ever tell you that you have really pretty eyes?"

I pulled the car up outside the hotel and sighed as I turned to see Tegan with her head pressed against the seat, looking my way. Even from that one glance I knew that she was completely out of her face. Perhaps I should have stopped her after that first bottle of wine, but I had wanted her to enjoy herself, to have whatever she wanted...

"Yes, actually, about two minutes ago," I shook my head, not being able to help myself from chuckling slightly at her. Since we had left the restaurant she'd done nothing but dote about my good looks. I couldn't wait to tell her about it when she finally sobered up.

"Well, I just wanted you to know," She slurred lightly, but grinned back brightly.

I smiled back as I slid from the car, threw the keys to the guy who was taking it to the car park, and made my way over to the opposite side to help Tegan stumble out the door. I wrapped my arm around her waist and held the majority of her weight as we made our way into the hotel and into the lift as quickly as possible. The last thing I wanted was for some of our work mates to see us, I didn't want them getting the wrong idea and thinking I was a bad influence on her, or anything.

"Oops," Tegan giggled as she tripped getting into the lift, only just staying upright from my grasp.

I sighed to myself as the doors closed behind us and I pressed her floor button, wondering if this was my fault. I turned to look at her, watching as she swayed back and forth as if she were dancing, even though there was no music for her to move to. We didn't speak a word as the doors reopened and I slowly led her down the long corridor until we reached the room that she was stopping in. It took her a few long, drowsy moments for realisation to hit that we were back, but when it finally did she turned my way with a seductive smirk. I gulped, feeling my heart beat quicken as she closed the gap between us and rested her hands against my chest.

"Nic..." She looked up at me with her huge, puppy dog eyes, and I swear I could feel my heart melting right there and then, "Thank you so much," She paused for a hiccup, "For tonight. I had a great time."

"So I can see," I chuckled, not being able to stop myself from resting my hands on her hips. "And I had a great time too," Thinking back to it, I knew it was the truth. Just because she was blind drunk right now didn't mean I wasn't enjoying being with her, and we'd really connected during the first part of the night, too...

Wow, I sounded like such a girl.

"I'm glad," She nodded, her eyes closing as she began to lean her face up to mine. I sighed, contemplating whether this was a good idea right now or not... but one kiss wouldn't hurt, right?

I finished the gap between us, closing my own eyes as my lips pressed against her own. I tried to end it there, to quickly pull away, but Tegan had other ideas. Her hands wrapped around the back of my neck and ran through my slicked back hair, keeping me flush against her. Her body pressed against mine hard, I could feel every inch of her through her clothes, and a low groan escaped my mouth at the thought of it, at the thought of what was happening...

Tegan pulled away, and I looked at her with both disappointment and relief as she began to search around in her small handbag to find her key card. When she finally had she slipped it into the door and pushed it open, revealing an empty room inside. I frowned, wondering where Nattie had gotten to, and feeling slightly worried that we were by ourselves still.

"She's not here, she's with Beth," I looked back to see Tegan smiling that damn smile my way again, and my eyes grew wide at how she had seemingly read my mind, "Do you want to come in?"

I wanted to say yes so badly, I wanted to say no so badly... but either way, it didn't matter. Before I had the time to answer she had gripped a hold of my arm and pulled me into the room, slamming the door behind us. Once we were inside, she wasted no time in spinning around and replacing her lips against my own... but this time, her kisses were full of hunger and passion.

My hands found her waist again and I pushed her back against the door, enjoying the sound of her moan as her back hit the wood. My lips left hers, only to leave heated kisses along her neck and collarbone. There was something in the back of my mind, something telling me that this was wrong, but it couldn't make it to the surface. All I knew was that I needed her, for the bet, for the money, for her...

"Nic..." The sound of her groaning my name in my ear, and the feel of her hands at the front of my shirt as she began to unbutton it suddenly made me bolt upright and move away from her. My breath came in huge heaves as I stared at her, wide eyed, wondering what the hell I'd just done.

I watched as she swayed on her feet, her eyes full with confusion as she stared back at me, wondering why I had stopped so suddenly. I wish I could have answered that question for her, but I'd never admit it in a million years.

The reason I had pulled away was because she was drunk. If I slept with her now, I'd be taking advantage of her. She'd probably hate me for the rest of her life for doing that to her...

Turning down sex with a girl, when I was going to get money for it? Yeah, I was either crazy, or I was whipped.

I hoped I was crazy.

"Is... is everything okay?"

"Yeah, everything's fine," I nodded with a sigh, running a hand across my face and over my hair, my eyes finding it hard to keep contact with hers, "I just... I don't want it to be like this, Tee. I don't want you to be drunk for our first time. I don't want it to just be some stupid decision because you can't think straight. I want you to want it as much as I do, and not regret it in the morning either."

I couldn't believe what I was saying, but I knew that it was the truth. So what if I wasn't going to win the bet just yet? I still had a while to do so, and in that time I could at least make sure that she was happy about the time and place, too. Especially now than she seemed to mean more to me than I wanted her to.

"Stupid decision?" Her eyes narrowed, and I groaned, somehow knowing that I was going to get this sort of reaction, "You think this was all some stupid decision? I know what I want, Nic! I'm not one of your cheap girls that will just throw themselves at you!" She screeched as she stormed past me and threw herself down on the bed belly first, her face burying in the pillows.

I rolled my eyes and shook my head at her outburst. She had just completely contradicted herself... although I supposed that was the alcohol talking. I wondered how it was possible for her to be even more dramatic when she was drunk than she was when she was sober, but somehow, she'd managed to do it.

"Don't be like that, Tegan," I sighed as I walked over to the bed, awkwardly standing by her as I tried to think of what to say, "I only want what's best for you."

Silence. Great, now she was really pissed with me. Just want I needed. Maybe I should have just slept with her and got it over with.

"Tegan?" I asked again, my anger beginning to rise... until a sigh escaped her lips and she turned on her side to face me, completely and utterly fast asleep.

The anger disappeared as fast as it arrived as I watched her, her hands curled up in front of her. There was something so vulnerable about the way she looked when she slept, that I felt a surge of protectiveness fill me. She may have acted like she didn't need my help, she might not of for all I knew... but that still didn't mean that I didn't want to be there for her. It was crazy... me, Nic Nemeth, actually wanting to look after a girl... but she wasn't just a girl anymore.

And I definitely wasn't leaving her like that.

I walked down to the end of the bed and unbuckled her shoes for her, pulling them from her feet and placing them on the floor beside her bed. There wasn't really much I could do about the dress, I knew she'd think the worst if she woke up in nothing but her underwear, so I did nothing more except for unbutton my own shirt, pull it from my shoulders and place it on one of the chairs in the room. Within seconds I was back beside her, tucking the covers around her as best as I could, before I lay down on the bed at her side.

I lay staring at the ceiling for a long time, thinking over what had just happened and wondering whether I had done the right thing by turning her down. For myself, I knew that I probably hadn't, because who knew if I'd get another chance over the next two and a bit weeks?

But for her sake, I knew I had done the right thing.

I felt her stir beside me, and I turned to see her snuggling close to me, her hands wrapping around my bare shoulder and her head pressing against it. I smiled ever so lightly, although when my thoughts returned, it quickly disappeared.

I just hoped to god that she didn't remember what happened in the morning... and if she did, that she still wasn't going to be pissed at me for turning her down.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Hey guys! Big thanks go to **_SarahLou143, nikki1335, Bubblyjayy, hardyrhodescenafan1, beautifultragedyxxx _**and **_xHalosandwings _**for reviewing the last chapter, I love you all!**

**Are you all looking forward to Summerslam tonight? I hope you'll all be cheering for Dolph, because I sure as hell will!**

**This chapter is pretty fluffy, but I think it's a nice change to the other ones... although don't expect it every time, haha. Here it is, anyway. I hope you all like and please remember to leave feedback!**

* * *

Chapter 9

**Tegan**

When I awoke the next morning, it felt like I had been hit by a truck. My eyes and head felt like they were going to explode from the bright sun that shone through the still open curtains, and my tongue stuck to the roof of my mouth, feeling like sandpaper. I desperately needed to get up for a drink, but I knew from the pounding in my head how much effort it was going to take.

I let a small groan escape my lips as I covered my eyes with one of my hands, stretching out with the other... and hitting something in the bed beside me.

My gaze instantly shot to the side and widened in horror at what I saw. Nic was sprawled out beside me, his bare chest rising and falling slowly in his sleep. I gulped as flashes from the previous night instantly began to return – getting drunk at the restaurant, coming back to the hotel completely trashed, inviting Nic into my room, kissing him senseless...

"Oh crap, oh crap," I shook my head and sat up instantly, wincing at the pain. I couldn't remember anything after that, not one single thing...

"Tee..." I heard Nic groan from beside me, and I turned ever so slowly to see him rubbing his own eyes. When he finally looked my way to see my expression, he quickly pulled himself up to sit beside me, his eyebrows furrowed, "What's wrong? Are you feeling sick?"

"No, well, yeah... but that's not the point," I shook my head, realising now that he had mentioned it how terrible my stomach felt. I ran a hand through my messy hair, vowing never to drink again. Not only did it leave you feeling like death the next day, but it left you in situations like these, where you had no idea what happened the previous night, "I, I just..."

"You want to know what happened last night," He practically read my mind, a small, amused smirk growing across his face as he tried to control his own messy hair by smoothing it down with his hands.

I glared his way, wondering why he found it so funny... but then again, he was a guy. Wasn't that what all guys were after? I knew I shouldn't have been so damn stupid. I had thought I'd seen a good side to him, but maybe he'd just been in it for the sex after all... and like an idiot, despite the bet, I had allowed myself to begin to feel something for him.

"Relax," He seemed to notice I wasn't happy, and his expression quickly changed, "How much do you remember?"

"Oh god," I whined, my cheeks growing red as I looked away, not being able to tell him when I was looking at his face, "I remember getting drunk, coming back here and then... throwing myself at you," I cringed. If he had taken advantage of me, then could I really blame him, when it had all been me?

"Okay, you don't remember what happened afterwards?" He asked, raising an eyebrow, and I shook my head lightly, dreading what he was about to say, "You don't need to worry, nothing happened, Tegan. I realised that it probably wasn't the best idea for us to do anything like that when you were drunk, so I stopped. You were pretty pissed at me, though."

I couldn't quite believe his words. I'd practically given myself to him, but he'd stopped, because I was drunk? That was definitely the last thing I had expected, but as I looked down at myself and my dress that I had been wearing the night before, I shook my head at my stupidity. I'd jumped to the wrong conclusion, by far. I'd blamed Nic for taking advantage of me, when he'd done nothing of the sort. I hated that I jumped to conclusions because I still expected him to be the guy I had first thought he was. I was really going to have to make myself realise that he was nothing like him.

"I, umm... I was pissed at you?" I asked, not quite knowing what else to say as I turned back to look at him, happy to see that he laughed lightly when he nodded, "I'm so sorry. I must have been really out of it."

"Don't be sorry, it happens to the best of us," He shook his head, ever so gently reaching out to wrap his arm around my shoulder, "Just as long as you're not still mad."

"Mad?" I asked quickly, shaking my head back and forth, "Nic, you have no idea how not mad I am with you right now, and how grateful I am, too. Don't get me wrong; it's not that I don't want to... you know," I blushed again, and his mouth pulled up at the sides, "But not like that. So, thank you, so much," I began to smile his way slightly.

"You don't need to thank me," He rolled his eyes, before a smirk began to grow across his face, "Besides, all the complements you gave me made up for it."

"Oh god, do I want to know?" I asked, covering my face with my hands in embarrassment, making him laugh out loud.

"Oh it was nothing serious, you just kept telling me how pretty my eyes were, and how handsome I was..." He trailed off, grinning down at me, making my cheeks grow even redder.

"Wow, stealthy," I shook my head, not being able to stop myself from laughing lightly. I peaked up at him, knowing that I might as well say what I was thinking, it wasn't like I could make myself look like an even bigger idiot, "But it's true... you are rather handsome, and your eyes are really pretty."

"Yeah?" His expression was amused but his eyes were soft and warm as he leaned in to kiss me sweetly, "Thanks, I guess," He chuckled.

"Anytime," I smiled against his mouth.

He pulled away slowly, before quickly looking down at himself and raising an awkward eyebrow. I frowned at him, wondering what was bothering him, "I'm sorry that I err, stayed here last night," He patted the bed, looking at me out the corner of his eye, "I just didn't want to leave you alone. You were in a pretty bad state when you fell asleep."

So, if it wasn't enough that he had stopped me from making perhaps the biggest mistake in my life... but now he'd stopped and taken care of me as well? If I hadn't been so full with guilt over the fact that this absolutely amazing guy was going to get hurt because of the stupid bet, I would have wondered how I'd gotten so lucky.

"Really? You're saying sorry, for taking care of me?" I raised an eyebrow again, smirking ever so slightly as I inched over and wrapped my arms around him in a hug, "I owe you big time."

"You know you shouldn't say that, because I'll hold you to it," He grinned at me as I pulled away, and I shook my head, giggling slightly in return. Despite the still throbbing pain in my head and the queasy feeling in my stomach, a huge sense of relief washed over me from the fact that I hadn't drunkenly slept with Nic, or that he wasn't annoyed with me for getting in such a bad state in the first place.

"How do you feel?" He sighed, one of his hands slipping around my waist and pulling me closer to him. I snuggled in to him, the side of my head resting against his as I closed my eyes. I hated to admit to myself how good it felt to be wrapped in his arms. I knew that when this was all over, if I let him get to me like this, it was going to hurt so much more than I had first thought.

"Like hell," I groaned without opening my eyes, and I felt the rumble of his chest as he laughed at me. I pulled a face as I snuggled closer to him, enjoying his warmth. I guessed a few more moments wouldn't hurt with him... I was pretty damn far gone as it was, either way.

"Silly girl, you couldn't have chosen a day that you didn't have to fly to get drunk," He laughed lightly again, his free hand lifting to run through my hair. I shivered at the feel of his fingers as they untangled my amber locks, hating that he had to remind me of our flights that were only a few hours away.

"I'll be okay," I sighed, finally opening my eyes and lifting my head, "I'll just sleep throughout it. A special talent of mine," I smiled his way crookedly, and he rolled his eyes playfully.

As my smile disappeared, the pair of us fell silent, and I began to feel extremely awkward. What was I supposed to do now? I needed to take a warm shower and pack all of my things ready for leaving in an hour or so, but I didn't exactly want to chuck him out. In fact, I hated to think it, but I didn't want him to leave at all. I was slowly beginning to regret the excuse I had made about visiting my family and turning down his offer of going home with him.

"So, umm, I better get back. I need to be at the airport in like," He looked down at his watch, and his eyes practically bugged out of his head, "Shit, half an hour."

He quickly jumped up from the bed and ran towards his shirt that was thrown over one of the seats. I watched as he buttoned it up in record time before slipping on his dress shoes and picking up his jacket.

"I hate that this has to be so quick," He looked at me with sad eyes as he slipped into his jacket, "But I'll see you soon, okay?" He didn't even wait for an answer before he began to move over to the door... but I couldn't let him go like that. No matter how late he was running.

"Nic, wait..." I shot up from the bed and moved over to him, thankful that he had stopped at the sound of my voice.

He turned around just as I reached him, and I dived into his arms. I smiled as I felt him grip me tightly to him, and I rested my head against his chest. I didn't want him to leave without a proper goodbye, not only because of the absolutely insane night and morning we'd had, but because we were going to be apart for a few days now. I needed him to miss me while he was gone so that he didn't do anything rash, and that he came back for more afterwards... and also because I needed to be close to him one last time.

"I'm sorry, I know you're running late, I just..." I trailed off, not knowing how to even word it as I pulled away and looked into his eyes. I felt stupid, wanting to say this, but it had to be done, for more reasons than one, "I know this is going to sound crazy after we've only been together a little while, but I'm gonna miss you."

"No, Tegan," He shook his head instantly, his hands rising to rest on both of my cheeks, "It's not crazy. I'm gonna miss you too," He sighed, before he ever so slowly leant down and placed his lips against mine.

No matter how many times he kissed me, I still couldn't get over how perfect it felt. How no matter whether it was sweet and slow, hot and fiery, or a little bit of both, it felt right. It was like I was made to be in his arms, and for him to kiss me...

But how could that be, when this was only happening because I wanted to win a stupid belt? The title suddenly seemed so inconsequential compared to Nic.

"I'll call you later, okay?" He whispered when he finally pulled away, and I simply nodded his way, not being able to find my voice, "Have fun with your family, Tee."

"I will," I finally spoke up, holding on to his hand as he began to pull away from me, "Take care at home."

He nodded my way as if to answer his question, and even after he moved from my grasp his eyes stayed locked on mine. I felt a lump in my throat as he sent me a small smile, and I quickly swallowed it, hating myself for so many different reasons as he eventually turned his back on me and left the room, closing the door behind him.

I walked slowly back towards the bed and sat down with a thud, not caring that I too was running late for my flight. I couldn't wrap my head around anything other than the fact that I didn't want to be apart from Nic for only a few short days... and I was only just over a week into the bet. What the hell was I going to be like by the time the whole month was up?

* * *

**Nic**

I walked through the corridors quickly, watching the time tick by far too fast on my watch as I jumped in the lift and waited impatiently for it to reach my floor. I could feel anger bubbling up inside of me as I tapped my foot on the floor, but deep down, I knew I wasn't pissed at the time. I was pissed at myself.

Why had I turned Tegan down? Why hadn't I slept with her when I had the chance and won the bet? I shouldn't have cared whether she was drunk or not, I should have got it over and done with, because I could have been $500 richer on my plane ride back home, and not to mention done with my relationship with Tegan.

But instead, I'd been the perfect damn gentleman and not slept with her while she hadn't been herself. Instead of the bet being over and done with, it was still going strong... which not only meant I wasn't going to be getting my money or sex any time soon – it also meant that I was going to spend even more time with _her._

More time that was most likely going to make me fall for her even more.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Hey guys! Big thanks go to **_Bubblyjayy, hardyrhodescenafan1, beautifultragedyxxx, xHalosandwings _**and **_Ashurii-sama _**for reviewing the last chapter, you guys are great!**

**Not sure what's with me at the minute with this fic, but the next few chaps are all about the same length as this – although I suppose its quality, not quantity right?**

**Anyway, hope you all enjoy and please don't forget to leave feedback when you're done! Things are going to start getting very interesting soon, I promise. ;)**

* * *

Chapter 10

**Nic**

My time at home passed too quickly and before I knew it I was climbing out of my rental car outside the next hotel that I would be living in for a few days. I passed my keys on to the valet and tipped him, watching as he drove away before I turned to look at the building and sighed. I knew that Tegan was already there, we had been on the phone constantly while we'd been apart so I knew that her flight had been a few hours before my own... and the thought of that terrified me.

The last few days had been so easy. I'd had nothing to worry about except washing clothes, paying bills and not eating too much junk food, but now that I was back to work, I knew things were going to be hard again – and that was all because of a certain girl who I now most definitely was beginning to think of than more than just a bet.

Despite how much I didn't want to be around her, I knew the minute I got sorted it would be her that I first found. I was completely torn between doing the right thing and ending it all now, and doing the wrong thing and continuing with the bet.

As I finally began to drag my bags inside and over to the front desk so that I could check in, I already knew I was going to choose the second option. Not only for the money, but because I was selfish. If I chose the first then everything with Tegan would be finished. I'd probably never speak to her again, and she'd go back to being the psycho chick that nobody dared go near... and I didn't want that. I hated myself for it, but I couldn't bring myself to not be around her anymore.

* * *

After dropping my things off and sending a quick text to find out that Tegan was in the hotel cafeteria, I quickly made my way back towards the lifts. Perhaps the good Nic inside of me wanted to stay in my room, the other part of me couldn't wait to get down there and see her again.

"Well, look who it is," The lift doors opened up, and an instant frown grew across my face as I noticed Zack and the idiot who had gotten me into this mess, John, stood inside.

I sighed as I squeezed in beside them, wishing I could have waited for the next one, but knowing that they would have given me shit if I'd have done so. Not to mention Jomo would probably have suspected that things between Tegan and I were bad and that was why I was avoiding him. At least that was one thing I didn't have to worry about.

"What's up, guys?" I asked, nodding my head at them both as the doors closed and I hit the ground floor button.

"Not much man, just been enjoying my few days in the sun," Zack nodded my way, and I couldn't help but smirk back. I'd not been able to spend much time with him as of late, and I was beginning to miss his pointless but mood heightening conversations, "What about you?"

"Same, pretty much. Enjoyed having a few days to relax," I shrugged, spotting the smirk on John's face again and rolling my eyes, "What?" My voice was short as I turned to him with a raised eyebrow.

"Nothing, I just thought you'd be boasting about your time with Tegan instead of how much you enjoyed your time at home, alone," He raised his own eyebrow my way, his god damn annoying smirk still there, "Things not going as well as you thought, Ziggles?"

I seriously hated this guy. I had no idea why I had even been friends with him in the first place... although I guessed, in the past two weeks I had changed a lot. I wasn't the same guy I had been when this bet had first begun – but had I really been like that?

"Actually, things are going really good," I shook my head, smiling at the thought of my relationship with Tee.

"Have you banged her yet?" Zack spoke up with a grin, and I shot him a glare. I know he was just being him, but I hated him speaking about her like that.

"No man, I haven't _banged _her yet," I replied, my voice not so pleasant, but I quickly added in a sigh as I shook my head. I couldn't allow either of them to see the affect that girl had on me, "I was so close though, the night before we left for home."

"Yeah? So what made you stop?" John asked, leaning back against the still moving lift and folding his arms over his chest.

"Well, urr, she'd been drinking all afternoon so she was pretty out of it, and..." I stopped, knowing there was no possible way I could tell them the truth. If I said anything remotely close to what had happened, that I hadn't slept with her because I didn't want to take advantage, then they would think I was the biggest pussy ever – and despite how much I had changed as of late, I didn't want that. In fact, it was the last thing I wanted, "And she conked out on me," I rolled my eyes for affect, never being more grateful for the lift to stop and the doors to open as I was at that moment.

"Seriously? You're that bad she fell asleep?" John laughed out loud, and I forced myself to walk out of the lift first so that I wasn't close enough to punch his lights out.

"Shut up, Jomo," Zack added, as the pair quickly flanked either side of me, "That's too bad man, must be frustrating to have gotten so close."

"Not really," I shrugged, ignoring John completely, "She's a great girl so it doesn't bother me that I have to be around her a little longer, and plus, I still have two weeks. I can do it in that time easily."

"Yeah, you said that when you first started, but here we are, half way through, and..."

"And I'm doing better than you ever imagined," I interrupted him with a grin as I spotted the cafeteria, "Now if you'll excuse me, I've got a girl to go meet."

I patted Zack on the shoulder, sent a smirk towards Jomo, and left them to it – not only because I was on my way to see Tegan, but because I didn't think I could be with them a moment longer without telling them just how crazy the bet was turning.

* * *

**Tegan**

"Helloo, earth to Tee," Nattie wafted her hand in front of my face, and I looked up from my cup of coffee that I had been stirring for the last few minutes, my forehead scrunched as I tried to work out what she'd said to me last.

"I, umm..." I sighed, having no idea what she was talking about, and send an innocent grin her way, "Sorry, what were you saying?"

"I was saying that we've got a good match tonight. You and Beth against me and Gail. It should be interesting."

"Oh yeah, definitely," I nodded without any enthusiasm. It did sound like it was going to be good, but right now I just couldn't wrap my head around it... or anything else, for that matter.

"Seriously Tegan, where the hell is your head at right now?" Nattie asked, shaking her head back and forth, "Oh wait, let me guess. About six foot, blonde hair..." She paused and raised an eyebrow.

I shook my head her way, but we both knew what she was saying was right. For the past few days while I had been at home, all I had been able to think about was him. He was in my mind no matter what, even in my dreams... and I hated him for it.

And only moments before he had text me to ask me where I was, so I was expecting him to turn up any minute, which made things even worse.

"Look, Tegan," My best friend began again after she had taken a sip of her own drink, "I know that I'm part of this as well, I made this bet, but I really think..."

I was interested in what she had to say... at first. I was expecting her to complain about how much time I was spending on this bet and that she didn't want me to get hurt, or something along those lines, but truthfully when my eyes reached the door and I spotted the guy I couldn't stop thinking about, her words were completely drowned out.

"Nattie, this conversation has been fun and all, but I've got to be somewhere else," I tore my eyes away for only a few seconds as I smiled her way, "I'll see you at the arena, okay?"

Without giving her time to speak, I pushed away from the table and stood up, leaving my coffee on the table as I made my way over to the door quickly where Nic was still standing, sending his familiar smirk my way.

I bit my lip as I got closer to him, taking in everything about him. God, he was gorgeous. I could feel my stomach twisting at the thought of being in his arms and him kissing me again.

I was in seriously, deep, bullshit.

"Hey you," He spoke when I was close enough to hear, sending me a wink and turning my legs to jelly.

"Hey you, back," I grinned as I practically jumped into his arms, letting out a deep breath when I felt his hands slip around my shoulders and pull me even closer to him.

I pulled away slightly, but only to plant my lips against his own. I didn't care that we were at the entrance to the cafeteria, or that we probably had a huge audience, or that the main reason I was with him right now was because of a bet. Instead, for those few seconds, all I cared about was how it felt to be with him, like he was really my boyfriend.

"Woah, happy to see me are we?" Nic laughed against my lips, placing sweet kisses against them afterwards.

"Hmm," I mumbled, frowning as he pulled away a little for me to speak, "You have no idea. I've missed you."

"Well, I don't blame you, I am pretty hot," He grinned, and I shook my head, breaking out in giggles as he took my hands and led me from the room, "And I missed you too."

I smiled up at his confession, leaning forward to kiss him again before I moved to his side and slipped my arm through his, happily cuddling to his arm as he led the way through the lobby. I wasn't quite sure where we were going, but I honestly didn't care.

"So, will I be getting that kind of greeting every time we're apart?" He spoke up, and I lifted my head to see him looking at me with an amused raised eyebrow.

"Yep," I answered simply with a smile. I didn't have long left to give him that type of greeting, only two weeks, so I was definitely going to make the most of stealing kisses from him.

"Even in a year?"

My smile instantly disappeared, and my eyes fell to the floor at his words. In a year... was he serious? Did he really like me that much that he thought we were going to last that long? Maybe even forever?

"Tegan? You okay?" I felt him nudge me ever so lightly with his shoulder, and I forced myself to look his way with a small smile and a nod.

"I'm fine," I eyed him, before I leaned into his shoulder again, not being able to lie to him when I was looking into his eyes, "And yes, even then."

The pair of us fell silent then as we walked towards the lifts, and I was thankful that I didn't have to speak, because I didn't think I could have without bursting into tears. I could feel my eyes and throat stinging from trying to hold in my emotions.

I couldn't believe that Nic had spoken about us still being together in a year's time. We weren't even going to last over two weeks after he found out about the bet. He was going to hate me for the rest of my life.

If only what we had had happened under different circumstances. If only I hadn't been so stupid and used him to try and win the title... because if I had done this the normal way, the way I was supposed to, then I would have been more than happy to think of us still being together in a year.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Hey there! Big thanks go to **_beautifultragedyxxx, xHalosandwings, hardyrhodescenafan1 _**and **_Bubblyjayy _**for reviewing the last chapter, I love you all!**

**Here comes the next one. Once again it's a little short, but it's also pretty drama filled so it makes up for it. Enjoy, and please let me know what you think!**

* * *

Chapter 11

**Tegan**

"Nic, no, stop it!" I squealed happily as I ran around the hotel pool as best as I possibly could, trying to escape his grip as he tickled my ribs.

"That's what you get for pushing me into the pool," He smirked as he grabbed a hold of my hips and practically lifted me off my feet as he pulled me towards him. I laughed loudly, from both the feel of his hands and from the reminder of his face after he'd surfaced from the water. I wished I had had my camera to take a picture.

"I'm sorry, I really am," I giggled as he placed me down, my back resting against the side of the pool, "I'll make it up to you, please just... no more tickling," I pouted, causing him to grin. I sighed to myself, my own smile momentarily faulting at how amazing he looked dripping wet in front of me. If I hadn't been so stupid, then maybe he could have really been mine...

"Yeah? And how do you plan on doing that?" He tilted his head to the side as he reached out and planted his hands on either side of me, trapping me. His face lowered so that he was barely inches away from me, and his gorgeous eyes sparkled with a fire that made me bite my lip. I knew it was suicide, I knew I shouldn't have kept putting myself through kisses that weren't even necessary... but I couldn't help myself. Not when he looked at me like that.

"Like this," I whispered, before I closed the gap and kissed him.

It started off slow to begin with, nothing more than a few pecks, but it didn't take either of us long to get carried away. Nic pushed himself against me completely, and a groan left my lips at the feel of his body as it moulded against my own. I lifted one hand to wrap in his hair, my other trailing down to his hip bones that were only just visible above his swimming trunks. I ran my fingers across them gently, smiling against his mouth as he shuddered from my touch... but he wasn't the only one that felt that way. It was like a million electric shocks were running through my body when he locked one hand behind my neck to hold me close, his other exploring any part of my body that he could while we were in public.

But as his hand began to get lower and lower, trailing down my stomach, I was beginning to forget that we _were _in public.

"Jeez guys, get a room."

I felt my cheeks growing red by the second as Nic reluctantly pulled away from me, his arm snaking around my waist as we turned around to face Zack, John and Nattie who had decided to join us in the pool. Zack was grinning like a fool, so I guessed it had been him who had spoken, but the other two were just staring at us with confused expressions. I buried my head against Nic's bare chest, hating that I had let myself go in front of people like that – especially Nattie. She was already far too close at guessing the truth, and by the look on her face, I was wondering if she'd managed to work it out fully.

"You wanna go spend some time with Nattie for a while?" Nic mumbled, and I looked up to see that he was now watching me. It was crazy that I didn't want to leave his side, we'd barely been apart since the day before when we'd returned to work, but I knew he was right. I needed to go and speak to her, as I'm sure he did John and Zack.

Besides, if I didn't leave his side soon, I was pretty sure that we'd be doing a lot more than kissing in front of the others.

"Sure," I nodded, smiling quickly as I stood on my tiptoes to give him a peck before the pair of us swam off to our friends.

I reached my best friend within seconds, and I cringed as I stopped beside her, watching as she raised an eyebrow at me as if she was waiting for an explanation.

"Please don't look at me like that," I whined, eyeing Nic and the boys from the corner of my eye to make sure they weren't listening to our conversation. I let out a breath of relief as I realised they were nearly on the opposite side of the pool now.

"How can I not, Tegan?" She whispered harshly, throwing her hands in the air for extra effect, "You were practically having sex with Nic over there! Do you have any idea what you're doing?"

"Of course I do," I shot back, my anger quickly growing, "And so what if we were? Do you really expect me to leave the physical stuff out? Because I sure as hell doubt this bet would last another day if I did."

"This isn't about the bet anymore, Tee," She shook her head with a sigh, "You're my best friend, and I'm just trying to look out for you. This has nothing to do with the belt, or winning... it's to do with you, and the fact that if you don't get out soon then you're going to get hurt."

"No, that's not true..." I hated that my voice sounded nowhere near as confident as I wanted it to, but when I knew that I was only trying to kid myself, I couldn't help it. "I won't get hurt... I won't let him in enough to do that."

"Really?" She asked, raising an eyebrow again as she turned to look at Nic quickly, before her eyes found mine again, "I think it's a little too late for that."

Nattie simply shrugged my way before she left my side. I didn't know whether it was to leave, or to swim, or to do anything for that matter, because my eyes wouldn't leave Nic as he played around with John and Zack.

I couldn't get her words out of my mind as I watched him chatting with a huge smirk on his face. He was so beautiful, so perfect... and she was right. Even if I ended it now, I was still going to get hurt, but it would be better than waiting. It would be better than falling in love with him and then losing him because of a stupid bet and a shot at the title.

* * *

**Nic**

"Well played, man, well played," Zack held his hand out with a smirk as I swam over to him and John, and I grinned in return, punching my fist against his.

"What can I say?" I shrugged, leaning my elbows against the side as I smirked at the pair of them, John in particular. The pissed off look on his face had pretty much made my day... well, after the hot make out session with Tegan, of course.

"Don't take this the wrong way or anything Nemeth, but you're doing way better than I ever thought you would," Zack lounged a few feet away from me, nodding his head, "I'd take my hat off to you if I was wearing one."

I chuckled at his words, shaking my head back and forth. Zack always came out with dumb stuff, but I had to give it to him there. I had thought the exact same when John had first picked Tegan. Never in a million years had I expected to do this well.

"I told you I could get any girl," I smirked again, turning back to look at Jomo, "And it's only a matter of time before the deal will be sealed... so I hope you have that five hundred bucks ready."

John looked at me for a few seconds like he was going to rip my throat out, and I was dying to rub it in his face even more... that was until he looked behind us, his eyes grew wide, and then a smirk wiped away all his anger.

"Are you sure about that?" He asked, his god damn triumphant grin growing even wider as he pointed to where Tegan was.

I span around quickly, praying that she wasn't right behind me, but my eyes quickly narrowed in confusion at what I saw. Nothing. Both Tegan and Nattie were nowhere to be seen.

"What the..." I breathed, my stomach beginning to clench as my mind ran over hundreds of possibilities as to why they'd gone.

"Maybe what the two of you have isn't as perfect as you thought."

I turned around, my eyes boring into John's angrily as he grinned at me. I wanted to punch him. I wanted to knock his damn lights out... but what would that accomplish?

"Shut the fuck up, Jomo," I spat back, my eyes finding my other friend as I asked him without words what I was supposed to do.

"Go after her, man... maybe she just wanted to go back," He shrugged, although his expression told me that he didn't believe his own words in the slightest.

With a small sigh, I sent a quick nod his way, knowing that he was right. I shot John another glare before I turned away from them and swam over to the steps.

* * *

Within five minutes I was back in my hotel room, and within ten I had gotten changed in to more appropriate clothing and made my way towards Tegan's room. Once I knocked on the door, I stood outside pacing, having no idea what I was going to find.

Truthfully, I was terrified. What if she knew? What if she'd overheard? Just the thought of hurting her like that, of not getting to spend time with her again...

"Nic, what are you doing here?"

My eyes shot up to the door, and they grew wide when I noticed Tegan was now stood there, her arms folded across her chest. She had pulled her hair back in to a messy ponytail and she was dressed in sweat pants and a matching hoodie... but even now she took my breath away. I couldn't lose her, not yet, anyway.

"I wanted to know what happened," I spoke up finally, walking towards her and taking her hands in mine, "You just disappeared and I didn't know what was wrong..."

"Nothing's wrong," She shook her head quickly, her eyes guarded. I gulped, my insides twisting. She knew, she had to, "I just didn't want to stay there any longer – but you should go. Go spend some time with your friends."

"No," I shook my head, desperately trying to get her to admit that she'd overheard what John, Zack and I had been talking about, "I want to stay here with you."

Her eyes found mine then, and they suddenly filled with sadness. I stared back, more confused than I'd ever felt. If she did know, then why was she looking at me like that? Surely she wouldn't be anything more than pissed with me if she had found out the truth?

Was it something else that was bothering her?

"No, Nic... please, just go," She shook her head, pulling her hands away from me as she walked backwards into her room.

"Tegan, wait!" I pleaded, but by the time I had took one step forward, she had already slammed the door within inches of my face.

I stood there, not being able to get over the shock as I stared at the door that was nearly touching my nose. I could feel the anger filling me at what she had just done, I wanted to slam my hands on the door and scream her name until she opened it back up... but there was one thing that stopped me from doing so, the same thing that finally made me turn around and grudgingly make my way back to my own room.

And that thing was the fact that it was me that was in the wrong. Perhaps this wasn't even about the bet, maybe it was something else that had happened... but part of me knew that she was better off now. If she truly didn't want this anymore, then at least she wouldn't get hurt when the bet was over with.

But like the selfish person that I was, I knew I wasn't going to give up that easily. I had to find out what it was that was bothering her, because if it was something fixable, I was going to take that chance. I hated that it had happened to me, but she was far too important to me now to just throw away.


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Big thanks go to **_xHalosandwings, Bubblyjayy, hardyrhodescenafan1, poisenousprincess, beautifultragedyxxx _**and **_nikki1335 _**for reviewing the last chapter, I love you all!**

**This one is basically a filler but it needed to be done. I hope you all enjoy and please let me know what you think! I've got lots of inspiration for this at the minute seeing as I got a reply from the man himself off twitter earlier, eek, so you give me reviews and I'll give you an update real soon!**

* * *

Chapter 12

**Tegan**

Before I knew it, five days had passed by and it was yet again time for Smackdown. Five days that not too long ago, would have meant everything. Five days that I most definitely couldn't have afforded to lose.

But now, as I walked into the Diva's locker room and threw my things down on the bench, taking no notice of the people that surrounded to me, I didn't care. There was now exactly one week and a day left in the bet, but that didn't matter to me anymore. I was done with it.

"Tegan?"

I froze, my hands half way finished unzipping my bag as I turned to the side, letting out a small sigh when I noticed my best friend stood beside me, already dressed in her own ring attire. We were taking part in a tag team match tonight, she and Melina against Maryse and myself. On paper it sounded great, but the last thing I needed right now was to be around Nattie when she had worked out the truth, even in the ring.

"What do you want, Nattie?" I sighed, my eyes returning to my bag as I pulled my clothes from it.

I hadn't spoken to her since the day in the pool, and I really didn't want to start now. In fact, I'd barely spoken to anyone since that day, including Nic – excluding the countless times he had tried and failed to talk to me and ask me what was wrong.

"I wanted to see if you were okay, I haven't seen you since... well, since we talked. Did I say something wrong? I have a feeling you're mad with me."

I shook my head, stopping once again as I turned around to face her. Her expression was a mixture of sympathy and worry, and I wondered if she knew just how much her words had affected me – or just how much they'd made me realise what I was truly doing.

"No, I'm not mad at you. The only person I'm mad at is myself."

My best friend pulled a confused face, and I sighed, looking around the room to make sure nobody else was listening in to our conversation. I really didn't need nosy girls overhearing about the bet and running to tell everyone, but luckily for me we were the only two in the room.

"I don't understand, Tee. You shouldn't be angry with yourself, you've done nothing wrong."

"Yes, I have," I replied with a frustrated groan, "This is all my fault. If I hadn't agreed to this stupid bet in the first place, then none of this would have happened. I would have still hated Nic because I'd think he was an ass, I wouldn't have to feel guilty every single damn time he's in my mind, which is _all _the time, by the way," I stopped for a breath, my eyes sad as they found hers, "And I wouldn't be feeling this way."

A moment of silence passed between us, and Nattie's eyes grew wide with recognition. I could feel my cheeks growing redder at my confession, but it wasn't like she hadn't worked most of it out already. She knew I felt something for him... she just didn't know how much until now.

"You can't give up on him now, Tegan. Not if you feel that way," She shook her head, "Just carry on with the bet, he'll never have to know, that way you can still have your title shot if you win, but you can also still be with him."

"No, no way," I shot back, angry that she'd even come up with the idea of continuing with it, "I'm not doing it, Nat. It's not just about him. As much as I don't want to hurt him, I don't want to do it to myself, either."

"Tegan..."

"No, please," I interrupted, turning away so that she wouldn't see the tears threatening to fall from my eyes, "I don't want to talk about it any longer. Nothing you say is going to change my mind."

Awkwardness set in as my best friend continued to stand beside me, but neither of us spoke. I began to sift through my bag again, hoping for a distraction. Finally, once Nattie realised I was telling the truth, I heard a small sigh escape her lips and knew by her footsteps that she was beginning to walk away from me.

"Okay, well, I'm going to catering. If you change your mind and you want to talk, you know where I am," She spoke up, before I heard the door close behind her.

Once I was alone, I dropped all my things on top of my bag and took a seat on the bench, quickly wiping away the tears with my hands. I felt so weak, allowing my emotions to get the better of me like that, but I'd never expected this to hurt so much when I first agreed to the bet three weeks earlier. I'd never expected to care about the guy who my best friend had chosen for me to use, and I'd definitely never expected to want something more than the title...

But now, it no longer mattered. I may have wanted Nic, I may have wanted the belt, but now that I had stopped myself from carrying on with the bet I would be getting neither. Although the thought pained me on both accounts, at least I wouldn't be hurting anyone else while I was at it.

* * *

**Nic**

I sat in the cafeteria, pushing the salad in front of me around the plate with my fork, having no intention of eating any of it. The only reason I was there in the first place was because it was the busiest part of the arena, and I'd hoped more than anything that Tegan would at least make an appearance there... but it was now barely twenty minutes before the show started, and I'd not seen her once.

Who was I kidding? She wasn't going to turn up there. She wasn't going to go anywhere near a place where she had the slightest chance of seeing me. For the past five days she had done nothing but avoid me, and on the few occasions I'd actually managed to catch her, she'd wanted nothing to do with me. She had to know... what else could the reason be behind it?

And the worst part of it all wasn't that there was only one week left of the bet, or the fact that John was constantly teasing me with that stupid smug look on his face.

The worst part was that I'd hurt her... and the thought of that killed me.

As I pushed the plate away from me, I shook my head, scowling at myself. Why did I have to be such a fucking idiot? I should have just said no to this god damn bet in the first place. I had known the minute John had picked Tegan that she was going to be trouble, but I never in a million years knew just how much.

It was like she'd turn me in to a totally different person. Before she came along I wasn't like that. I didn't care about a woman's feelings and I never thought of them as more than a one night stand, at most perhaps a small fling. I didn't give a shit about anyone but myself.

If only I could go back to three weeks ago and say no. I'd much rather be that guy than the miserable excuse for one that sat at this table now.

"Nic?"

I looked up through my lashes, a sneer obscuring my features as I saw who it was. What the hell did she want? Was she there to make me feel even worse about myself? To give me a piece of her mind about the bet? If she was, then I knew it wouldn't be long before I snapped. I knew how wrong I'd been, I didn't need someone else lecturing me about it.

"What is it, Nattie?" I sighed, leaning back in my seat and folding my arms over my chest as I eyed her with a raised eyebrow. I made sure to pull the arrogant mask back over my face. I didn't need her seeing how much I was really affected by Tegan.

"I'm here to talk about... about Tegan," She added reluctantly as she took the seat across from me.

"Look," I leaned forward and rolled my eyes, "If you're here to bitch..."

"No, not at all," She interrupted, her eyes wide as she shook her head back and forth.

Despite wanting to hide how I felt, I couldn't help but stare at her in confusion. If she wasn't there to lecture me... then what was she there for?

"I... I don't understand," I lifted my eyebrow again, "She's not mad at me?"

"Not that I know of," She shook her head, her eyes quickly narrowing in suspicion, "Why, is there a reason she should be?"

I sat back, my eyes wide, wondering what the hell I was listening to. She wasn't mad at me? Then how come she'd been completely avoiding me the last few days? Surely it had to do with me... right?

"No," I shook my head frantically, thinking of a cover up, "It's just... she's barely even spoken to me the past few days, so how could I not think I'd done something wrong? I just worry about her, Nattie," I shrugged, my eyes finding the table as I realised just how truthful my words were.

"I was hoping you'd say something like that," I looked up to see the smallest of smiles on her face, "Now I don't know if you're the guy that Tegan makes out, but if you are, then you're going to want to help her as much as I do."

"Of course I want to help her," I nodded, leaving out the part I didn't want anyone to know. _And I want her back, more than anything._

"That's good," Nattie nodded in return, "You see, I tried to talk to her just now but she was having none of it. I have no idea what it is that's bothering her, or if this will work, but I think the only person that might be able to get through to her is you."

I stared across the table at her, wondering if she was just fucking with me, but by the expression she was sending me I could tell she was deadly serious. Why, out of everyone, would Tegan listen to me? Perhaps whatever was bothering her wasn't my doing, but that sure as hell didn't mean she wanted me to be around her. She'd made that pretty obvious as of late.

"I don't know," I sighed, looking down at the table, my fingers drawing invisible patterns across it, "I've tried to speak to her so many times in the past few days, but she wouldn't listen to me. It was like she didn't even want to be near me."

"So try again! She's pushing us away because she's scared of something, but that doesn't mean we can't be there for her. So it might not work straight away, but eventually she's going to break and confide in one of us, and I'm pretty sure that someone is you."

I looked back up into the eyes of Tegan's best friend, noticing that they were pleading with my own. She and I had never really liked each other before the bet, I was pretty sure she still didn't like me, but she'd still come to see me for my help... because of Tegan. She meant a lot to her, as she did me. It was going to be hard to turn her down.

And besides, I knew she was right. Even if she didn't want me there, I still needed to be there for her. Whether I was the one she needed to talk to about her problems or not.

"So, will you talk to her again?"

"I'll try," I nodded her way, "I'll go see her again later, when we get back to the hotel."

A grin grew across Nattie's face as she got what she wanted, and I had to refrain from rolling my eyes. I was glad she could be happy about it, because I definitely wasn't. I was pretty much dreading having to try and speak to Tegan again, especially if she was yet again going to push me away.

"Thank you, Nic. So much," She smiled one last time, before she pushed herself out of her seat and disappeared, leaving me alone with my not so happy thoughts.

But it didn't take long for the seat across from me to be filled again. When I looked up to see who it was, my eyes narrowed instantly. Nattie hadn't exactly been my favourite person to talk to, but I'd definitely take her over him any day.

"What the hell do you want, John?" I spat, glaring at him angrily.

"Woah man, no need for the hostility," He chuckled, holding his arms up in the air, a water bottle placed in one of his hands, "I just thought you looked a little lonely over here, you know... without Tegan."

"Shut the fuck up." I growled, in no mood for playing games. Jomo had pushed me far too much over the past few days, and he was really starting to get on my last nerve.

"Hey now, I'm only looking out for you. I guess things still aren't going well for you, then?" He leaned his elbows on the table, smirking over at me.

I shot daggers his way, my hands clenched into fists at my side as I desperately tried to control myself. I wanted more than anything to punch him squarely in the jaw, but my life was fucked up enough as it was. I didn't need to be in trouble with my boss on top of it all.

"You know what, man," I sighed, standing up from my seat and gazing down at him, "I... whatever. I'm out of here."

I shook my head, not wanting to waste another breath on him as I left the table and began to make my way back through the corridors towards the locker room. There was no point arguing with John about the bet anymore, not now. Not when I didn't even know if I cared enough anymore to even continue with it.


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: Hey guys! Big thanks go to **_hardyrhodescenafan1, xHalosandwings, xXBeninekoXx, beautifultragedyxxx, Bubblyjayy _**and **_nikki1335 _**for reviewing the last chapter, I love you all!**

**This one is pretty fluff worthy but I thought it was needed, it gives Nic, Tegan and most importantly you guys a little break from all the drama!**

**Anyway, I hope you like and please don't forget to leave feedback.**

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Chapter 13

**Tegan**

Once my match was over with, I wasted no time in getting out of the arena. I couldn't take being around Nattie, or Nic, or anyone for that matter. Without speaking a word I picked up my things and left, opting to take a shower when I got back to the hotel. I hated feeling all icky after a match, but it was better to be like this for the ten minutes it took me to get back than to have to face the two people I really didn't want to see.

My mind wouldn't stop going over the things my best friend had said to me once I was in the safety of my room and getting cleaned up. Why did she have to be so damn confusing? She was the reason I was messed up like this in the first place. She had told me that I shouldn't be continuing with the bet, yet now she wanted me too? What the hell was she playing at?

With a small groan, I gritted my teeth and forced myself to forget about her. The reason I'd escaped so quickly was because I didn't want to have to deal with her, so the last thing I wanted now was for her to constantly be in my mind.

I quickly slipped into a pair of old shorts and a tank top, not caring that I looked like hell as I left the bathroom and curled into my bed, picking up my book off the table beside it. Despite how utterly spent I felt, there was no way I was letting myself sleep yet. It would give me far too much time for my mind to go back to thinking about my problems; so instead, I curled my legs up and began to read...

But I didn't get far. In fact, I was barely a few pages in when my mind began to wander again, but this time it wasn't about Nattie. It was about Nic, instead.

What the hell was I supposed to do? When I had left him in the pool, realising that my best friend was right, I'd never expected it to be this hard. I had thought that even though I did have feelings for Nic, it wouldn't take long for me to forget about him. I had thought that maybe I'd only been so down with myself because I felt guilty for hurting and using such a nice guy... but that wasn't the case.

It had been days since I'd pushed everyone away, yet all I could think about was him. His stupidly cute smirk when he teased me, his lean body as he pressed it against my own, the feel of his lips on mine, his eyes...

The sound of a knock on the door shook me out of my depressing thoughts, and I refocused on my book, noticing that I must have been zoned out for a good ten minutes.

Another knock sounded quickly, and I frowned, wondering who it was. It was most likely Nattie, wanting to talk to me about earlier. Well, there was no way I was answering it. She'd just have to accept the fact that I didn't want to see her and run along.

"Tegan, I know you're in there..." A voice sounded along with another knock, but it wasn't my best friend that had spoken.

My eyes grew wide and my stomach clenched, and I quickly dropped my book back beside me, trying to be as quiet as possible. Maybe he was just saying that, maybe if I stayed quiet he would eventually leave me alone...

"Tegan!" He shouted again, banging even louder this time. I flinched at his tone, he didn't sound happy, "I'm not leaving until you open this door."

I shook my head, my eyes on the door as I wondered what I was supposed to do now. I really, _really _didn't want to see Nic right now, in fact – I would have preferred it to have been Nattie that was on the opposite side of the door... but it wasn't like he was going away anytime soon. I knew him well enough now to know how stubborn he was.

Shaking my head, I ran a quick hand through my hair and stood up, slowly making my way over to where he was still knocking. I briefly remembered that I was dressed in perhaps the scruffiest bed clothes I owned, but that thought was quickly pushed to the side. I had worse things to worry about right now than how I looked.

"Tee, please, just..." His voice was pleading as my hand reached out for the handle. With a small sigh, I grabbed a hold of it and threw the door open, stopping his sentence mid-way.

His wide eyes found mine, and I cringed, hating the affect they had on me. This was bad. I shouldn't have opened the door. I shouldn't have given in to him, because I knew the minute I looked into his perfect blue orbs that he had me.

"Hi..." He sounded awkward, but his smile spoke relief. His eyes took a quick glance at my revealing clothes, but within seconds they were back to looking at my face. I guessed he realised it wasn't the perfect time for him to ogle me.

"Hi..." I had no idea what I was supposed to say in return, so I repeated his own words, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Look, Tegan..." He paused, as if he wondered what he was about to say was appropriate, but it didn't take him long to speak again, "We need to talk. Is it okay if I come in for a little while? I don't really feel comfortable out here..."

He glanced at my clothes again, and I blushed. He was right, as much as I hated the thought of him being in my room, just the two of us, I nodded. I wasn't high on the fact that others could see me in practically my underwear if they walked passed, and not to mention they'd be able to hear our entire conversation.

I slipped out of the way so that he could enter before I closed the door, not being able to turn around to look at him. I let out a small sigh as I gripped on to the handle tightly, trying to swallow the lump in my throat.

"Tegan..." I heard Nic close to me, and I flinched as I felt him gently wrap his hand around my arm.

I knew there was no point trying to get away with it now, so I allowed him to spin me around. I tried to keep my eyes on anything but his, but they were just so mesmerising, the minute he began to speak to me again I looked up.

"I need to..." He sighed, his eyes pleading with mine, and I instantly felt mine grow sore as I tried to hold in tears. I was going to be a blubbering mess, I could tell, "I need to know why you're mad with me, Tee. I can't handle this. I hate myself, and I don't even know why." He shook his head back and forth.

I began to shake my own head as I backed away from him, silently cursing when I hit the door only a few seconds later. I could see the desperation on Nic's face. He needed to know why I had left him.

But how could I ever tell him about the bet?

"I... I can't..." I stuttered, hating myself as the first few tears began to fall. I reached up and angrily brushed them away, my lip trembling when Nic closed the gap between us and took over for me, using the pads of his thumbs to remove them from my cheeks.

"You can tell me anything," He shook his head, smiling despite our situation. How could he want to make me feel better, when I was treating him like such a bitch?

I at least had to tell him that this wasn't his fault; that I wasn't mad with him, but with myself instead.

"It's not you, Nic," I barely even whispered, allowing him to pull me away from the door and over to the bed where the pair of us took a seat. I sat with my hands in my lap, my eyes never leaving them, even when he placed an encouraging hand on my knee, "I'm so sorry for running out on you like that. I didn't mean for you to think that you'd done something wrong. I just... I can't do this anymore."

"Do what?"

"This," I wafted my hand between us, finally looking up at his face, my tears still falling, "Us, I can't do it."

"What?" His eyes instantly grew wide, and he began to shake his head back and forth frantically. He reached out and took a hold of my shoulders, and I struggled back against him, knowing that the minute he pulled me into his arms I'd give up, "You can't just say that and expect me to accept it! What's going on, Tegan? Why don't you want this anymore?"

I finally managed to pull away from him and stood up, but I kept my eyes on his, knowing that no matter what, Nic deserved an answer... but whether it was going to be the truth, I had no idea.

I stared at him for what felt like forever, the words _because this is all a lie _on the tip of my tongue. I wanted desperately to tell him so that he knew what I was really like... but the thought of that terrified me even more. He would have been better off knowing about the bitch that I really was, but I was far too selfish and too big of a coward to be able to say that one simple sentence.

Instead, I broke down yet again as I walked over to him and took his hands in mine, trying to use at least part of the truth as I explained.

"Because I'm not good for you, Nic," I shook my head, my voice thick. He gripped a hold of my hands tightly, as if to disagree, but I shook my head once again so that I could continue without being interrupted, "I'm not the girl you think I am. I'm not nice, I'm not friendly, and I'm definitely not perfect. I'm horrible, vindictive and I care about nobody but myself. You deserve someone so much better than me..." I trailed off, not being able to speak any longer.

"You think..." Nic stopped, and my eyes shot down to him narrowly as he chuckled. What the hell was so funny about what was going on right now?

"You think this is funny?" I spat, trying to pull away from him again.

"No, Tegan..." He quickly stood up, his eyes wide as he made sure he kept a hold of my hands, "I'm not laughing because of this, I'm laughing because I'm relieved. All this time I thought you had left because you hated me or that you were mad at me for some reason... but no, you're being like this because you think I don't deserve you?" His expression turned into a frown.

"I'm not good enough..."

"Don't you think I should be the judge of that?" He raised an eyebrow, letting go of one of my hands so that he could pinch my cheek softly, a small smile growing across his lips again, "Truthfully, it should be _me _that's saying all this to _you_. I've never been a good guy, Tegan. I'll admit that I've used women in the past, that I've never treated them like I should, with respect and dignity... but I guess, all that changed when I met you. Maybe I'm still not the greatest guy in the world, but I know that I am a better man now that you're in my life," He smiled again, running his thumb along my check affectionately.

I looked into his eyes, crying once again, and not to mention hating him for his stupidly perfect speech. I knew something like this was going to happen. The minute I had opened the door to him I knew he was going to worm his way back in somehow, even though I knew more than anything that the worst thing for me to do was go back to him...

"You say that now, but when you find out about the real me..." I couldn't even finish my sentence, I knew if I did then I'd admit everything, so instead I changed it completely, "I'm scared, Nic. I'm scared that when you see what I'm really like, you're going to hate me."

"Hate you? Tegan, I could _never _hate you, no matter how bad you turn out to be," He joked, finally managing to pull me closer to him. I had tried and tried to push him away, but I was too mentally exhausted to try any further. If he wasn't going to let me out of our relationship... then I guess I was just going to have to get on with it... somehow.

I shook my head, the tiniest smile showing on my lips at his joke. A full blown grin grew across Nic's face when he saw, and he quickly pulled me in for a hug. I could barely breathe from the harshness of it, but I didn't say anything. Instead I held on to him just as tight, both hating and loving that he was still there in my arms.

"Just so you know, Tee," He whispered in my ear, placing a quick kiss on my neck before he spoke again, "No matter how bad we get, how crazy things turn out to be between us, I'll never leave you."

I snuggled even closer to him, closing my eyes as I took in both his familiar scent and his words. Perhaps he was happy to say that now, but I was pretty sure when he found out about the bet he was going to think differently.

"Just so you know," I whispered back, finally deciding to leave things as they were for now, "You said that you're not the perfect guy... but to me, you are." I felt him squeeze me a little tighter, and the first smile of the night grew across my lips as I allowed him to hold me.

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**Nic**

I held onto Tegan like my life depended on it, not wanting to let her go in fear of losing her again... or even worse, for her to realise that I really _wasn't _the perfect guy.

She had tried to break things off because she was worried I wasn't going to like the real her? The thought of that made me sick to my stomach. If she thought that, then what the hell was she going to think when she found out about the bet?

It was then, as I held her in my arms, that I realised I had to do something about our situation. I either told Tegan that I didn't want to be with her anymore, or I ended the bet...

And there was no way I could stand not being with her now. Not after how I'd felt when we'd been apart for merely a few days.

With a small sigh, I nodded to myself, preparing for what I was going to do the following day. I was going to find John as soon as I possibly could and tell him that the bet was off. I no longer cared for the money, or even about my reputation. All I cared about now was being with Tegan, in a real relationship, and not having to break her heart when she found out what was really happening.


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: Hey everyone! Big thanks go to **_hardyrhodescenafan1, Liloxbubbly, xHalosandwings, beautifultragedyxxx _**and **_nikki1335 _**for reviewing the last chapter, you're all fab! I know ff. net has been a pain in the butt the last few weeks, so it really means a lot that you stuck through it to R&R!**

**Here comes the next chapter. I hope you all enjoy and please don't forget to leave feedback afterwards.**

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Chapter 14

**Nic**

The next morning I woke up to the feel of a hand pressed down against my chest. I smiled sadly as I turned to see Tegan curled up beside me, completely oblivious to the world around her as she slept. I shook my head, noticing the bags under her eyes. Even in sleep she looked utterly exhausted, but I wasn't surprised. After crying for most of the night she had pretty much worn herself out completely.

I lifted my arm to check my watch which I was still wearing, seeing that it was still extremely early. It was probably going to be hours till Tegan woke up... but there was no way I could lay around that long. Not when I was wide awake.

Besides, there was something important that I had to do, anyway.

With a small sigh I checked on Tegan one last time, brushing a strand of her red hair away from her face. She let out a small breath and leaned into me further, making me frown. I hated having to leave her, especially after only just getting her back, but it had to be done.

I ever so gently began to pull myself away from her, pausing slightly when I managed to free myself to make sure I hadn't woken her. I watched as she snuggled up to where I had been lying, and a small smile grew across my lips. God, she was so beautiful...

Rolling my eyes at myself, I picked up my t-shirt and slipped it on over my head before I searched around the room for a key card. I might have been disappearing for a little while, but I wanted to make sure I could get back in afterwards without having to wake Tegan. I didn't want her to freak out when she saw I'd left.

After finding what I needed, I took one quick look back towards the bed to make sure she was still sleeping soundly before I slipped out the door. I made my way towards the lift and waited till it arrived at the fifth floor, before I walked through the corridors with a purpose, already knowing which room I needed.

I banged against the door loudly when I reached it, really not giving a shit if I woke the people up around us. This was way too important to leave until a later time. I had to get this over and done with now.

"What the fuck?" I heard the angry tone from the other side of the door, before it swung open to reveal a pissed off Jomo on the opposite side. His eyes narrowed even further when he saw it was me, but I didn't care. I really wasn't someone he wanted to cross paths with right now, "Nic, what the hell are you doing here? Do you have any idea what time it is? It's not even 7am, man!" He groaned, running a hand across his face to rid himself of his tiredness.

"I don't care what time it is, we need to talk," I shook my head, my voice sharp as I crossed my arms over my chest.

"And whatever it is can't wait a couple more hours?" He raised an eyebrow.

"No, actually, it can't," I shook my head, taking in a deep breath before I stared unblinking into his eyes, "I'm calling off the bet."

"I, urr..." John's eyes grew wide as he rubbed at his face again, as if trying to work out whether this was all a dream. I didn't really blame him... this was the first ever bet I'd ended before I'd won it in the whole time I'd known him, and believe me, there had been a lot. "Excuse me?" He chuckled lightly.

"You heard me," I growled, growing impatient. All I wanted was to get this over with so I could go back to Tegan and start over, "I don't want to do it anymore. I refuse to."

"Wait; let me get this straight..." John stepped forward, crossing his own arms over his chest, "You want to stop the bet, even when you only have one week left?"

"Yeah, I do," I shrugged, not caring in the slightest that it was nearly over with. "I can't do this to Tegan, not anymore... so it's over man. I'm finished."

"You can't just walk away from it like that," He shook his head, and I shot him a glare. Why the hell couldn't I? It was my life and my decision if I didn't want to take part in it anymore.

"Watch me," I answered simply, before I span around and began to walk off. I wasn't going to stand there arguing with him, not when I had better places to be. He knew how I felt, and he knew that I wasn't going to play his stupid games anymore. The rest I was going to leave to him.

"I wouldn't if I were you, Nic. Not if you don't want her to find out what you've really been up to for the past three weeks..." John's words cut through me like ice, stopping me in my tracks.

I desperately wanted to ignore him, to walk away and forget about everything... but he'd just gone and said the one thing that assured I didn't.

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**Tegan**

I let out a sigh as my eyes began to open, a groan escaping my lips as the bright morning light shone through the curtains, making my already aching head hurt even more. Unlike last time, it wasn't because I had been drinking. Instead, it had been because I'd practically cried my eyes out the previous night when I'd talked to Nic...

Speaking of Nic, I scrunched my eyes up, not wanting to look at him yet. I knew he had fallen asleep beside me, and truthfully I was terrified to speak to him. After how I had acted the night before, would he still want to be with me? I'd been like some kind of crazy person... and not to mention I hadn't even been able to tell him the truth. Like the chicken I was I twisted the truth so that he still had no idea about the bet.

I sighed yet again as I finally began to inch open my eyes, realising that I had to face him sooner or later – but when I turned to look beside me, my lips pulled down in confusion. Nic was no longer beside me. In fact, he was nowhere to be seen.

I knew he'd been too good to be true.

I sat up, feeling my heart beat accelerate at the thought of him leaving me. It wasn't that I blamed him; he was probably scared to death after my episode last night. He'd probably thought that after my breakdown that I was too high maintenance and he'd left before I had the chance to burden him with more of my problems...

Either that or he knew.

I could feel my panic growing by the second as my eyes scanned the empty room uselessly, trying to think of something – _anything _– that meant Nic had had to leave without it being about me, but it was no use. All I could think about was that I'd lost him.

"Woah, Tegan..."

In my panic I'd failed to hear the sound of the key card being used, or even the door opening up. It took me far too long to realise what was going on, but when I finally did, I looked up just in time to see Nic taking a seat beside me and wrapping his arms around me.

I let out a deep, shaky breath, shaking my head back and forth as I clung to him for dear life. God, I hated that I'd jumped to conclusions and freaked out when he'd not been there... but how could I think any different after the night before? And not to mention the bet?

"What's wrong, Tee?" He asked, his voice soothing as he rubbed circles across my back.

"I, I..." I rolled my eyes at myself, wondering why the hell I was trying to come up with some excuse. Wasn't I lying to him enough already? "I was afraid that... that you'd gone. I thought that maybe after you saw me last night that you'd kinda freaked out and you wanted nothing to do with me..." I mumbled, hiding my face against the crook of his neck.

"You thought I'd left because you'd gotten upset?" He pulled away from me, his hands finding my shoulders and gently massaging them as he chuckled lightly, peering into my eyes, "Tegan, when you're hurt, that's the _last _thing I'd be doing. I only left to deal with something with Jomo, I was only gone ten minutes," He shook his head, lifting one hand to cup my cheek.

"I'm sorry," I sighed, shaking my head as my cheeks grew red with embarrassment. If I hadn't scared him off before, then I probably was going to do now with all my stupid neediness... but it was hard not to feel that way after I thought I'd lost him for good, "I just don't want to lose you, Nic. You're too important to me," I confessed, hating how truthful my words sounded.

"You won't lose me," His voice was intense as his fingers slipped under my chin and lifted it so that my eyes were connected with his. I desperately wanted to look away but I found myself mesmerised by his blue orbs. He was so beautiful that it hurt... I just hoped more than anything that I didn't end up breaking his heart. There had to be a way to get out of the bet without hurting him in the process, "You're the greatest girl I've ever known, Tee. There's no way I'm going anywhere."

I could feel my heart melting as his words sunk in, and I shook my head, trying more than anything to stop the tears from falling. I'd cried enough to last a lifetime in front of Nic, there was no way I was going to be doing it again for a long, long time...

"Where the hell did you come from?" I whispered, smiling ever so slightly before I inched closer and pressed my lips against his.

I felt his arms wrap around my waist and pull me even closer to him, but it wasn't with desperation. The kiss wasn't heated, but it was definitely the most intense one we had shared so far. It was like Nic was telling me what he had only just said was the truth through his body as well. Everything about the way he was in that moment told me that he was never going to let me go, no matter what...

But I knew I couldn't believe that completely. I knew that if he found out what I had really done, what I was still doing, then he'd be out the door before I could even try to explain.

"Why don't you go get ready, babe, and then I'll take you out somewhere?" He whispered, his forehead still pressed against mine after we'd pulled apart.

I nodded my head, smiling ever so lightly. I couldn't say I wanted to do anything but mope around in my room all day, but I knew if I did then Nic would suspect there was something else wrong, and I couldn't let him think that... so with a small nod his way, I reluctantly pulled from his grasp so that I could take a long, hot shower, hoping more than anything that it would help to clear my mind of all of my problems.

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**Nic**

I sat on the bed, staring off in to space as I listened to the water running in the bathroom. I tried not to think about the fact that the girl in there was relying on me to be the perfect boyfriend right now, to take care of her and to be there for her no matter what...

But how was I supposed to do that when I had treated her so badly?

I shook my head, anger bubbling inside me at the thought of John and his threat. I hated him so much, with every fibre of my being... because I knew now there was absolutely nothing I could do. There was no way I could call off the bet, not if it meant Tegan would find out about it. I couldn't let that happen.

So the only choice I had now was to ride it out. I only had one week left to get through and it would all be over with. I'd no longer need to even speak to John anymore, and I could go on happily with my new life with Tegan. Only seven more days until I was free... and only seven more days until I lost my first ever bet.

It was crazy that I no longer even cared about the money, or the sex, or even my reputation. I _wanted _to lose. Perhaps then John would finally realise how much Tegan really meant to me and leave me alone. It was a long stretch to think that way, but a guy could hope.


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: Thank you **_hardyrhodescenafan1, BigRedMachineUK, Liloxbubbly, nikki1335, xHalosandwings _**and **_dark. dreamss _**for reviewing the last chapter, I love you all!**

**Here comes the next one. I hope you enjoy and please don't forget to leave feedback.**

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**Chapter 15

**Nic**

A new day brought with it a new city... which unfortunately meant travelling – with John. I hated the thought of having to be in a car with him and Zack for nearly three hours, but that was our travel plan. It had been since we'd become good friends barely days after we'd met. Yeah, it had seemed like a pretty good idea at the time, but not anymore – not when Jomo knew my deepest, darkest secret.

And even worse, Nattie and Tegan were riding with us, too. As much as I'd dreaded the thought of being in the same car with all of them, the bet hanging around like a bad smell, the thought of leaving Tegan to fend for herself in her state was even worse. So, pushing away the huge possibility of John blurting out the truth, I asked her and her best friend to come along with us, to which they'd regrettably agreed to.

"So... New York, eh? Anyone else looking forward to visiting the Big Apple?" Zack spoke up from the front seat, trying to end the awkward silence that had settled over the vehicle barely ten minutes in to our ride. Despite everything, I smiled lightly, grateful that he had been the first to speak. Sometimes he could be a real dipshit, but he was a good guy, and he knew what needed to be done.

"Yeah man, lots of hot chicks," I added, turning to Tegan who was cuddled to my side and winking at her playfully. She rolled her eyes back my way, but a small smirk played across her lips.

"And don't forget hot _guys_, right Nattie?" She asked, turning towards her best friend.

"Oh, there's no doubt about it," Her friend nodded back, her eyes finding mine as she grinned my way. I smiled back with a nod, knowing that the look she was sending me was one of thanks rather than what the others thought.

Like I had said before, she and I had never really gotten along well before Tegan had come in to the picture, but I was glad that she had took the time to speak to me about her best friend when she was having problems. If she hadn't have spoken to me in the cafeteria and told me that I was going to be the only one that got through to Tegan, then I probably would have been sat in the back seat of the car by myself, listening to John and Zack as they joked about me losing the bet.

"Looks like you're in trouble, Nic," John's voice reached my ears, and my mood instantly dampened again.

My arm tightened around Tegan's waist and I pulled her even closer to my side, before my eyes shot to the rear view mirror, where John's amused gaze was watching me. His eyebrow lifted when he noticed me looking back, and I sent him a glare, hating him more than I had ever hated anyone in my entire life.

I didn't understand why he was being like this. Yes, I had tried to call off the bet... but surely that was a good thing for him? He'd have won it, after all... but no, if it wasn't complicated enough already, he'd told me that if I wanted to try and make things work with Tegan, if I didn't want her to know the truth... then I couldn't end it. I had to wait till it was over with.

Some friend he was.

"Nah, I don't think so," I heard Tegan speak up from beside me, and I turned to see her smiling my way.

I let out a small sigh, wondering what it was that she saw in me. Had I really changed that much? Was I really a good guy now, all because of her? But for whatever reason it was, I was grateful. I wasn't sure what I'd do with myself now if I realised she didn't reciprocate my feelings.

Trying to ignore John's stare as his eyes still bored into my head through the mirror, I smiled back her way, before I placed a quick kiss on her lips. I knew I had so many problems in my life, all of them in the car with me at that exact moment... but at least I still had her.

I watched as Tegan rested her head against my shoulder, her small frame moulding around mine as she tried to make herself comfortable. The silence was back, the awkwardness had returned, but this time I didn't care. Instead of worrying about what John knew, I rested my head against the top of Tegan's and closed my eyes, thinking about nothing but how good it felt to have her beside me again.

* * *

**Tegan**

It didn't take long for me to fall asleep after our little talk in the car... and the next thing I knew, my shoulder was being shook slightly, and my eyes opened to see Nic looking back my way, a small smile on my lips as I rubbed my tired eyes.

"Nic?" I whispered, sitting up and looking around, noticing for the first time that we were no longer moving.

"Yeah," He chuckled lightly, unbuckling my seatbelt for me and holding out his hand, "Come on, Tee, we're there," His head tilted to the side, watching me as I composed myself before I took his hand and allowed him to pull me from the car, where I spotted the other two men and my best friend pulling our luggage from the boot.

"Well hi there, sleepy head," Zack spoke up with a grin, and I smiled back sheepishly, cuddling into Nic's side even further. I'd never really gotten the chance to get to know Nic's two best friends so far, but Zack seemed like a decent guy. I don't think I'd ever seen him in a bad mood.

As for John, though... I still wasn't sure what to really think of him.

"Here you go, Tegan," Jomo held out my case to me, and I nodded his way with a small smile. His eyes found mine and he returned a grin of his own, but there was just something off about it... like it was all an act, and he was trying to hide something.

"Thanks," I shook my head, riding myself of my thoughts as I turned to look at Nic with a smile. So maybe Jomo was a little different, but that didn't give me the right to think of him as a bad person, especially when I didn't even know what he was really like.

"You ready then, babe?" Nic asked me quietly, and I nodded once again, my eyes finding the huge hotel in front of us and growing wide. There was no doubt about it that we were in New York now.

"Actually, Tee... can I speak to you for a second?"

I span around, my hand still holding onto Nic's tightly. A frown grew on my face as I spotted Nattie behind us, smiling at me lightly. I could feel my good mood disappearing by the second at the thought of having to speak to my best friend alone. I hadn't done so in so long, and right now, I really didn't need another one of her lectures about Nic, the bet and everything else that was messed up in my life. I knew it was bad enough without her telling me so, but I also knew that if I turned her down, the others would be suspicious.

"Sure," I nodded, sending her a reluctant smile before I turned back to face the man beside me, "You head on in, okay? I'll catch up with you in a minute."

Nic's eyes found mine, as if he knew there was something not quite right about our situation. He stared at me intently for a few seconds, before his eyes flashed to Nattie's and he nodded quickly. I wasn't quite sure how he'd managed to pick up on the bad vibes, maybe he just knew me better than I thought now.

"Alright, I'll be inside," He looked back towards me, smiling ever so slightly. I grinned back, giving him a quick kiss before I pulled out of his grasp and watched as he walked away, Zack by his side and Jomo following close behind after he had given the car keys to the valet.

Once the three were finally out of sight, I let out a deep breath as I turned to look at Nattie, preparing myself for whatever lecture she was about to give me... but I was surprised by what came out of her mouth.

"Are you okay, Tegan?" She asked as she began to walk away from the crowd in front of the hotel a little. I quickly followed her footsteps with a frown.

"I, umm, I guess so," I nodded her way, smiling slightly.

"It's good to see that again," She jolted her chin towards my face, and grinned back.

I let out a breath of relief. So much bad stuff had been going on as of late that I couldn't even speak to my best friend without winding myself up, but so it seemed, there wasn't a problem there anymore. Nattie was just happy to know that I wasn't the crazy person I had been the day before.

"Yeah, it feels good," I sighed, thinking back to the night before, "And it's all thanks to Nic."

"So I could see," She tilted her head to the side, her eyes searching mine, and I instantly began to grow uncomfortable again. Why was it that she could always read my emotions like a book? "I don't want to cause any trouble again, Tegan, but I just need you to be one hundred percent sure that you're doing the right thing before you delve back in there."

"I don't know, Nattie," I shook my head in return. I knew that she was only asking me these questions because she cared, but it was hard. It was hard to hear her ask them, and even harder to work out what I was supposed to answer with. "Honestly? I don't know if I'm doing the right thing by being with him. I don't know what the hell I'm doing with anything in my life anymore. All I know... is that I'm falling for him." I bit down on my lips, taken aback by my own words.

"And it took you that long to work that out?" My best friend rolled her eyes, stepping forward so that she could hug me tightly. I sighed as I held on to her tightly, more than grateful for her support. I really didn't know how I would have handled everything if I didn't have her... even if she _was_ the one that had started the whole problem in the first place. "Just make sure you're not going to get hurt in the process, okay?"

"Me get hurt?" I pulled away and frowned her way, shaking my head, "No, Nattie... Nic is the good guy in all of this. He's not the one that's betraying the other, so getting hurt is the least I deserve."

"It's not your fault, Tegan..."

"Please don't try and make me feel better about myself, it won't work," I interrupted, my eyes finding hers as I thought over all the stupid things we'd done during the past few weeks. I thought over what was at stake if I managed to pull it off. I thought about having the women's title around my waist... but the truth was, it held no kind of happiness for me anymore. The sadness that hit me when I thought of what it would do to Nic drowned out everything else.

"Tee? What's wrong?" Nattie's words interrupted my thoughts, and I looked up to see her staring my way with confused eyes. I let out a deep sigh, the smallest of smiles reaching my lips as I finally realised what I wanted to do.

"The bet... I want to call it off. I don't want anything to do with it anymore."

"What?" My best friends eyes grew wide as my words sunk in, "Are you sure? I mean, what about your title shot? Is being with Nic really worth all that?"

"I... I'm pretty sure it is, yeah," I nodded, smiling lightly.

"Well, I... I don't know what to say," She sighed, shaking her head. Her eyes found mine once again as she shrugged, "I understand, I really do... it's just you were so close to getting what you wanted."

"What do you mean by that?" I titled my head, frowning her way.

"Come on, Tegan... it's pretty obvious that Nic is head over heels in love with you. All you had to do was get him to admit it and you'd have won."

As Nattie's words sunk in, it was like the entire world itself had come to a stand still. Was she telling me the truth? Did he really love me? Did it really matter to me anymore?

"So are you sure you want to end it?" Once again her words rid me of my thoughts, and I began to shake my head, trying to swallow the lump in my throat. What was I supposed to do?

"I... I don't know, Nattie. I don't know." I sighed, running a hand through my hair in frustration as I began to back away from her. "Just let me think, okay?" I barely even whispered before I turned away from her, not waiting for an answer as I made my way towards the hotel entrance.

Why did she have to tell me that now? I loved Nattie, she was my best friend, and I knew that she was only doing what she thought was right to help me, to make sure I chose the right path... but right now I despised her for what she had only just said. All thanks to her, the decision that I knew I was going to make was even harder than it was before. Thanks to her, because I was going to choose Nic instead of my dream, I was going to be hurting for a very long time.


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: Big thanks go to **_hardyrhodescenafan1, xHalosandwings, Liloxbubbly, nikki1335 _**and **_beautifultragedyxxx _**for reviewing the last chapter, I love you all!**

**Here comes the next one, its a little longer for once haha. I actually really like how this one worked out, and I can't wait to show you all the next few chaps which I've been working on. I hope you all like this one anyway, and please don't forget to leave feedback!****

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Chapter 16

**Tegan**

The following morning I made my way downstairs early, opting to get some food in my stomach before I worked out for the day. There really wasn't any point lying in bed thinking about all of my problems like I had been doing for the past few hours, at least if I was up I'd hopefully have something other than Nic and the bet to think about.

Yet as I sat munching my fruit salad, a certain thought coming to mind, and I found myself wanting to think of Nic... because the bet didn't matter anymore. Not only because I didn't want to go along with it, but because we would be leaving tomorrow to go home for four days. The day we returned, my time would be up... so even if I _was _planning to get him to say I love you, as Nattie had pointed out would be easy, it no longer mattered.

Which meant that there was nothing to worry about. I couldn't help but smile to myself at the thought of all of my problems being done and dealt with. Not only that, but it meant I could put the past month behind me and move on with my life – well, the past month, excluding one thing.

"Boo."

I squeaked quietly at the voice that was directly next to my ear, and I span around to see Nic's face inches away from mine. I shook my head, my heart beating a mile a minute as I watched him chuckling. I playfully glared back, nudging him with my shoulder as he placed a quick kiss on my cheek.

"You idiot, you scared me half to death," I sighed, trying my best not to smile as he sat down across from me and reached over, squeezing my hands in between his.

"I'm sorry," He smirked, lifting my hand to his lips and kissing it, "I didn't mean to scare you."

"Yeah, sure you didn't," I rolled my eyes, before I finally smiled his way. I pushed my nearly empty bowl to the side so that I could lean across the table, waiting for him to do the same before I pressed my lips against his own. It felt so good to be able to do that without worrying, without thinking that he was going to find out what I was really up to.

"Hmm, not that I don't appreciate it and all, but what was that for?" He raised an eyebrow, and I grinned back in return.

"I don't know. For being you, I guess," I shrugged, kissing him once more before I sat back in my seat, still holding on to his hands, "So, what are you doing here?"

"Am I not allowed to see my girlfriend first thing in the morning?" He pouted, his eyes full with amusement.

"You know that's not what I mean, silly. I love seeing you, no matter when... but it is really early. I didn't think you'd be up yet." I shrugged truthfully. After all, it was barely 8am; I thought he'd be catching up on sleep when he got the chance.

"Yeah well, I couldn't sleep, so I thought I'd come down for some chow and spotted you," He smiled lightly, tilting his head to the side as he watched me, "Hey, are you doing anything today?"

"Umm, well I was planning on going to the gym after I'd finished here, but I might skip. Other than that, I don't really have anything to do until the show later. How come?"

"I dunno, I was thinking maybe we could just have a day where it's just us two. I could take you out, we could maybe catch a movie and grab something to eat then head on to the arena," He shrugged my way with a slight smile, "Unless, you know, you'd rather not..."

"No!" I interrupted quickly, shaking my head and grinning his way. A few days ago the last thing I'd want was to spend so much time with him... but there was no way I was passing on a day full of Nic now, especially when we wouldn't be seeing each other for nearly a week. "I'd love to, as long as I get to pick the film," I replied cheekily.

"Oh, I don't know about that," He lifted an eyebrow, quickly following it up with a smile and making me giggle.

"Alright well, give me half an hour to get ready?" I asked, standing up from my seat.

"Sure, I'll just grab something to eat and then I'll come fetch you," He nodded my way, standing up also so that he could give me a lingering kiss.

"Hmm, I'll be waiting," I whispered against his lips, smiling happily before I span around and walked away, for once actually looking forward to spending time with the man that I could now truly call my boyfriend.

* * *

I couldn't hide the smile on my face as I left the ring, making my way through the backstage corridors towards the locker room. I nodded and smiled at everyone that passed me, thanking me on the great match I'd just had with Melina... but my mind was elsewhere. Of course, I was more than happy that I was doing so well with my job right now, but that wasn't the reason for my smile.

Instead, the reason was a certain guy with bleached blonde hair, one who's guts I had hated barely a month previously... one that I was pretty sure I was now head over heels for.

My day had been pretty much perfect. I'd barely had a thought about the bet as Nic took me to see a movie, one that in the end he allowed me to choose. I wanted it to be something that we'd both enjoy, so I picked a new comedy. It warmed my heart when I was sat beside him watching the film, listening to him laugh along with me.

Afterwards he took me out to a nearby fast food restaurant and we stuffed out faces with extremely unhealthy food with a promise to work it off next time we were in the gym together. Yet another thing that made me care about him so much was the fact that he seemed to understand just the type of girl that I was. I wasn't one for flash restaurants or expensive dates. I was more than happy to eat McDonalds and joke around with a guy, and that's exactly what Nic gave me.

It didn't take me long to reach the locker room, so I opted for a quick shower while I waited for Nic. His match had been just before mine so it probably wouldn't be long before he turned up, but I'd rather waste a few minutes before hand then when I was with him.

Ten minutes later I stepped out in a white fluffy towel, walking over to my bag as quickly as possible so that I could be ready for when Nic arrived. A few other Divas came and went as I slipped into my clothes, but not once did I see my best friend. It wasn't that I did want to see her, right now Nattie would probably unintentionally end up ruining my day, but I still wondered where she'd got to.

With a small sigh I looked down at the pair of comfortable sweat pants and tank top that I was wearing. I knew that I probably looked terrible as I pulled the hair band from my head, allowing my wet red hair to cascade down my shoulders, but right now I didn't care. I was pretty sure Nic didn't care what I was wearing, either.

Just as I zipped the last of my gear into my bag, I heard a familiar buzz indicating a message on my mobile, and a small smile grew across my lips as I noticed who it was from.

_Outside now x_

I rolled my eyes, wondering what his problem was with knocking. He'd said something about having a bad experience when he'd knocked on the women's locker room door before... I had no idea what it was, but I knew that I'd be asking him more about it sometime soon.

I quickly slipped my phone into my pocket and picked up my things, wasting no time in making my way over to the door and leaving the room. My smile returned as it closed behind me and Nic stood up from leaning against the wall, a smirk of his own apparent as he moved closer and kissed me quickly.

"Hmm, you smell good," He purred, pulling away and taking a hold of my hand.

"Why thank you, you're not so bad yourself," I winked, snuggling into his side and taking in the smell of his freshly showered skin.

"Babe, I thought you'd know by now that I'm perfection," He joked back, making me roll my eyes playfully his way.

"Yeah, yeah... you ready to get going? I'm pretty beat?" I spoke up, not realising the truth of my words until I yawned.

"Sure," He nodded in return, squeezing my hand a little tighter before he led me out of the arena and towards his car.

* * *

"So..." Nic's voice filled the silent corridor as he pulled me to a stop in front of my room, his eyes looking between my own and the door, "I had a great day, Tee."

"Me too," I nodded, my voice barely a whisper.

I bit down on my lip, not really realising until that moment that it would now be four days till I saw him again. Part of me was happy that I got to go back home, that the bet would pretty much be over and done with when we next saw each other... but another part of me couldn't bear the thought of being away from him for so long. I felt like such an idiot, like one of the love struck girls I'd never wanted to be, but it was the truth.

"Hey," He dropped his gym bag down on the floor so that he could rest his fingers under my chin, keeping me from looking anywhere but into his beautiful blue orbs, "What's wrong, Tegan?"

"Oh, err... it's nothing, really," I shook my head, smiling lightly. I may have finally admitted how I felt to myself, but I wasn't ready to tell Nic. Not yet, anyway. I also wasn't ready to say goodbye to him just yet, either. "I was just wondering if you'd like to come in for a little while. Watch a movie or something." I shrugged his way.

The minute my words left my mouth, Nic's smile dropped from his face, and I could feel my stomach clench in worry. I'd practically given everything, I'd put my heart and soul into our relationship now that I didn't have to worry about anything anymore... did he not feel the same way?

"Oh, umm, it doesn't matter if..."

"No, Tegan, I want to," He sighed, shaking his head quickly as he leaned forward, his eyes boring into mine, "You have no idea how much I want to... I just don't want to pressure you into something that you're not ready for."

My eyes grew wide as I realised what he meant, and I shook my head, not being able to hide my smile. He thought I was talking about sex? It wasn't that I didn't want that with him... but right now? All I wanted was him to be there with me just a little longer.

"You're not pressuring me, Nic," I inched forward, kissing him lightly before I continued. "All I want is for you to come inside, curl up and watch TV with me. No funny business, no repeat of last time... I can even prove I'm sober if you'd like me to?" I asked, my cheeks growing red at the thought of last time and how I'd made a complete fool of myself.

"Okay," He chuckled, shaking his head back and forth as he leaned down and picked up his bag, "In that case, I'd love to come in."

I nodded his way happily before spinning around and opening the door with my key card. I flicked on the light and looked around the room, happy to see the double bed and flat screen television. Just what I needed.

I placed my things down in a pile, reminding myself to unpack everything in the morning as I span around, a smile on my lips as I watched Nic doing the same. My eyes were glued to him as he kicked off his trainers before pulling off his hoodie to reveal a tight fit black t-shirt underneath. I bit down on my lip, not quite believing that this absolutely gorgeous guy was mine...

"What?" Nic seemed to feel my gaze, and a smirk appeared as he turned around and noticed me staring at me.

"Oh, nothing," I shrugged, walking over to him and wrapping my arms around his waist, "Just enjoying the view," I cooed, kissing him once again before I grabbed a hold of the remote and crawled onto the bed, patting the empty space beside me.

Nic sent a crooked smile my way before he took a seat beside me, laying his long legs out in front of him and resting his back against the headboard. I sighed as I pulled my legs up and snuggled into his side, resting my head against his chest. I smiled lightly as I felt him wrap his arm around me, his hand lifting so he could run his fingers through my still damp hair.

"Here, you can choose something, seeing as I got to pick the film," I looked up for a quick moment as I passed him the remote, grinning as he laughed lightly before taking it from me.

He ended up stopping on a replay of our show from the week previously, and the pair of us lay in a comfortable silent for a good majority of the show. I wasn't sure what Nic was thinking, but I knew that finally, I was feeling content. There was nothing to worry about. I couldn't help but feel slightly guilty that he was never going to know the truth... but being with him was more important than that.

"Tegan?" Nic spoke up finally, his fingers still stroking my hair. The sound of his voice brought me back from my thoughts, and I realised that the show had now finished.

"Hmm?" I asked, my voice vibrating across his stomach.

"I've been meaning to ask you this for a couple of days now, but I didn't really know when the right time was..."

My eyes widened as I slowly lifted myself up into a seating position, frowning at the look on Nic's features. I had never seen him look this way before; he was almost worried about something...

"What is it?" I asked, inching a little closer to him.

"Don't worry, nothing bad," He shook his head, noticing my expression and chuckling. His eyes found mine again, and he smiled my way, using his free hand to run his fingers across my cheek. "I'll understand if this is something you don't wanna do, it's a pretty big commitment after all... but I just wanted to know if you'd consider coming home with me tomorrow."

I stared at him in silence, his words sinking in. He wanted me to go home with him? He wanted me to spend the next four days at his house? The four days that were still part of the bet?

"I won't make you meet my parents or anything," He was watching my expression intently, and I could tell by the way he spilled out his words that he was jittery, "Just a few days where it's just us, you know? But like I said, it's fine if it's too big..."

I took in a deep breath and closed my eyes, feeling myself torn into two separate pieces. One part of me was screaming for me to say no, to stay away until the bet was other with... but the other part was full with excitement at the prospect of going home with Nic. Of spending four days together, just us two...

And what were the chances that in those four days he'd say I loved you, anyway?

"I'd love to, Nic," I finally spoke up, opening my eyes to see his own widen in surprise, before the smirk that I loved returned.

"Really?" He asked, and I nodded his way, "That's great, Tee," He grinned, pulling me towards him and showering me with kisses.

"Alright, Mr Eager," I giggled in between pecks, grinning his way as he pulled away reluctantly and placed a quick kiss on my nose.

"I'm sorry," He chuckled, brushing strands of my hair from my face, "I'm just excited, I guess."

"Hmm, me too," I nodded, leaning over to give him one last kiss before I pulled myself back down to lay beside him.

The pair of us fell silent once again, both of us in our own little worlds. I stared at the television screen, having no idea what was going on as I listened to Nic's breathing become steadier as he drifted off to sleep, my thoughts running haywire.

I knew that these next few days were going to be hard; I knew I was probably crazy for agreeing to go with him... but I also knew I'd done the right thing. I was putting the bet behind me, I couldn't keep allowing it to rule my life, and most important my relationship. It was time for me to move on and start building a real life with Nic.


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: Hey guys! Big thanks go to **_hardyrhodescenafan1, Liloxbubbly, nikki1335 _**and **_xHalosandwings _**for reviewing the last chapter, I love you all. I've wrote up to 19 of this so far, so the more reviews you give me, the quicker I'll update! ;D**

**I hope you all enjoy this one anyway. It is pretty short... but it's quality, not quantity, right? Please don't forget to leave feedback when you've done!**

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**Chapter 17

**Tegan**

When we arrived at Nic's house the next day, I wondered if we were in the right place. My jaw practically dropped to the car floor as we pulled into the driveway of a huge brick building that just oozed appeal. I had thought that my house was a decent size... but it was nothing compared to this. It made me wonder what size houses the biggest stars of the company could afford.

"Tegan?" I turned to look at Nic, rolling my eyes at his amused smirk as he leaned against the steering wheel and watched me. When I finally caught his eyes his smile grew even wider as he nodded towards the house, "You like?"

"Like? I love," I shook my head, raising an eyebrow his way; "How the hell can you afford a place like this?"

"Years and years of saving," He chuckled as he opened up his door and climbed out the car. He waited till I'd done the same before we walked to the boot and pulled out our luggage. "So, you want the tour?" He locked the car and turned towards me, another smile on his lips.

"Sure," I nodded in return, wrapping my free arm through his and snuggling in to his side slightly as he led the way to his front door. I bit my lip as I waited patiently for him to open it, still wondering if I'd done the right thing by going home with him. I just hoped these few days alone together didn't make things serious between us. Not that I didn't want that to happen, I just didn't want it now, before the bet was over with.

Nic finally led me inside the house, and after dropping our bags off in the hallway he proceeded to show me the entire downstairs. Both the lounge and kitchen were huge, as was the pool outside. I shook my head at him as he showed it me, amused. There wasn't a pool at my home, but I'd always wanted one.

Once he'd shown me the first floor, we picked up our things again and I followed him upstairs to the bedrooms.

"So, this is my room..." He coughed a little awkwardly as we reached the door and I peered inside to see a huge king size bed covered in a leopard bedspread. I chuckled lightly under my breath, causing him to smile my way as he placed his things down.

"Nice."

"Yeah," He laughed lightly, shaking his head as he walked a little closer to me. "So, umm... it's up to you where you want to stay. If you'd like, you can have your own room... or, or you can stay in here. Whatever you want."

I looked up at him with wide eyes, wondering what I was supposed to do. I knew it would be safer to stop in a separate room, but would he take it the wrong way if I did? I mean, it wasn't like we hadn't been in the same bed together before.

"I, err... I'll stay with you, if that's okay?" I asked, wondering why I felt so stupid speaking these words as a blush grew across my cheeks.

"Of course it's okay." Nic's smile returned as he closed the gap between us, his lips pressing against mine gently. My hands automatically wrapped around his neck, and I felt his hands on my waist, pulling me even closer to him. I smiled lightly before I kissed him again, pouting slightly when he pulled away a few seconds later.

"I'm sorry, Tee," He chuckled, brushing my hair out of my face with his fingers, "I've just gotta run to the study and make a call. I won't be long... make yourself at home, okay?"

"Hmm, okay," I nodded, kissing him one last time before he pulled away and left the room, leaving me in silence to look around at the bedroom.

With a small sigh I sat down on the edge of the bed and pulled my own phone from my pocket, figuring I might as well make my own phone call while Nic was busy with his. I hadn't spoken to my best friend in a few days now; it was about time to get back in touch with her.

"Hey Nattie," I smiled into my mobile as she picked up on the third ring.

"_Tegan?"_ She sounded surprised to hear my voice; she probably hadn't thought I'd be calling her any time soon, _"Is everything okay?"_

"Yeah, everything is fine; I was just ringing to ask you the same, actually. I didn't see you at the arena last night."

"_Oh right, yeah. I had the night off so I just hung around in the hotel. I would have called you but... I thought you might need some time."_

"Yeah," I sighed, puffing the air out of my cheeks, "I'm sorry I've not really been there the last few days, I just had a lot to think about, you know?"

"_Of course, Tee. It's completely understandable. So, have you made up your mind yet?"_

"Yeah, actually... I'm at Nic's."

"_What?"_ Nattie's voice squeaked and I cringed, hoping she'd take it better than that. _"Tegan, are you sure..."_

"I'm more than sure, I'm positive. This is what I want, Nattie. I don't want to do the bet anymore, it doesn't matter to me if I have a title shot or not. I care about Nic way too much to use him like that." I bit down on my tongue, my words and realisation hitting me like a ton of bricks. I didn't just care about Nic anymore.

I was in love with him.

"_Well, if this is what you want, then I'm happy for you Tegan."_

"Thanks Nattie," I smiled into the receiver. "I just hope he doesn't find out the truth."

"_Yeah, let's hope not."_

"Anyway, I better get off the phone. Nic will be back in a minute. I'll see you when I get home though, yeah?"

"_Of course, Tee. Have a good few days, okay? Let me know how things go."_

"Will do, bye Nattie," I smiled again before I hit the end call button, feeling a little more confident about my decision to stay with Nic now that my best friend knew about it.

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**Nic**

"Seriously man, if you don't stop ringing me I'm gonna..."

"_Gonna do what, Nemeth? I don't think you're in a position to do anything," _John interrupted me, and I gritted my teeth to keep from shouting. The last thing I needed right now was for Tegan to hear and find out what was really going on. _"The only reason I was ringing is to see how things were going."_

"I already told you this," I sighed, shaking my head back and forth as I perched on the corner of my desk. "Tegan is staying with me for the next couple of days, and then when we get back the month is up so this stupid god damn bet will be over and done with."

"_Only if you play by the rules. You're not allowed to quit trying, remember?"_

"Haven't we already gone through this? I told you I'd do whatever it takes so you don't tell her the truth. I don't want her to know, Jomo."

"_Relax, you know that as long as you go the distance then my lips are sealed." _I let out a breath of relief, even if I wasn't one hundred percent certain he was telling the truth... I guess I just had to hope that he was. Once these next few days were over with, whether I managed to win the bet or not, I was done. Jomo could stick his stinking money where the sun doesn't shine. _"I still can't believe you fell for Tegan man, of all people. All these smokin' hot girls we've made bets about and you choose her."_

I could feel my anger growing at his words and I felt like throwing my phone across the room to end our conversations for good... but I knew that wouldn't do me any good. Still, the thought of him talking about Tegan like that made me see red. He really thought she was just another one of the girls that we had messed around with? She wasn't. She was more than that. She was the best thing that had ever happened to me, regardless of what John and everyone else thought of her.

"You know what, man? Shut the fuck up. You need to find yourself a girl, or better yet a life." I spat before I hung up the phone, feeling both happy and nervous about my outburst. I just hoped it wasn't enough to send him over the edge and tell Tegan the truth.

With a small sigh I threw my phone down on my desk and ran a hand through my hair. If he was going to keep calling me like he did on the drive over, there was no way I was keeping my phone with me. It could stay in the office for the next few days so that there was absolutely nothing coming in between mine and Tegan's time together.

The thought of the girl that was only a few rooms away in _my _bedroom cheered me up greatly, and I wasted no more time in stepping out of the study and making my way to the large room at the end of the corridor.

A smirk appeared on my lips as I slipped through the door and spotted her sat on the bed, scrolling through something on her phone. She was completely oblivious to the fact that I was stood there watching her as her eyes stared at the screen with interest. God, she was so beautiful. I really didn't know what I'd do if I lost her now...

"Hey," I finally spoke up, smiling as her head shot up and her eyes grew wide.

"Jeez Nic, could you sneak up a little quieter?" She breathed, her free hand rising to her chest as she threw her phone down on the bed beside her.

"I'm sorry," I chuckled, walking over to her and taking her hands in mine, "I didn't mean to scare you. At least, not that much."

"Haha," She glared as she stood up in front of me and playfully hit me on the shoulder. "You wait mister; I'm so gonna get you back."

"Yeah?" I asked, moving my head closer to hers until our lips were only inches apart, "I'd like to see that." I barely even whispered before I kissed her.

With a small sigh Tegan pulled away from me, her eyes finding mine with a frown. I pulled a face, wondering what was bothering her, my eyes growing slightly wide when she finally spoke.

"Is everything okay?"

"Of course, why wouldn't it be?" I shook my head, answering a little too quickly.

"I don't know, you just seem a little... down." She shrugged my way, her fingers running along my jaw.

"Believe me, Tegan, I'm fine... at least I am now that you're going to be staying with me for a few days." I smiled her way.

She spent a few more seconds looking my way before a smile of her own broke out across her face and she wrapped her arms around me, resting her head against my shoulder. I sighed as I pulled her as close as I possibly could to me, my fingers running through her hair as I thought about how good it felt to have her in my arms, here, in my own home.

I knew that I had a hell of a lot to sort out when we got back, with Jomo especially... and I knew there was a huge chance that he wasn't going to keep his word, but for now I tried to push all of that to the back of my mind so that I could think about nothing but spending a few days with Tegan, alone, without all the crap that was my real life.


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: Hey guys! Big thanks go to **_hardyrhodescenafan1, beautifultragedyxxx, xHalosandwings, Liloxbubbly _**and **_poisenousprincess _**for reviewing the last chapter, I love you all! **

**I've updated major quickly this time because I spent most of my day writing this rather than actually doing my work, oops, but yeah... it's pretty short but probably my favourite chapter up to yet. I hope you all enjoy, and please don't forget to leave feedback!**

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**Chapter 18

**Nic**

"_Tegan, what is it? What's wrong?"_

_My eyes were wide as I stood backstage, the girl that meant everything stood before me, her hands screwed into fists at her side as her eyes bored into mine, tears welling up... but that wasn't the thing that worried me the most. The worst thing was the look of pure anger and betrayal that she was sending my way._

_She knew. She had to..._

"_Tegan," I gulped, shaking my head as I stepped forward and reached out to her, only to have her swat my hands out of the way angrily._

"_Don't you dare," She screeched, her voice so forceful that I stepped away from her, my hands raised. I looked on, my stomach ripping in two as I waited, not being able to do anything but stare at her tear stained face. "I gave you everything, and you... and you used me!" She screeched again, moving closer and punching me against the chest._

"_No, it's not like that," I shook my head, pathetically trying to make her believe me._

"_You made a bet with John to sleep with me, Nic. How the hell could it be anything different?" She asked me, trying her best to wipe at her cheeks but failing miserably._

"_Tegan, I..." I ran a frustrated hand through my hair, hating the look she was sending me. It was like her heart was broken in two... and it didn't surprise me if it was. That's exactly how my own felt right now. "At first, that's all it was to me. A bet and money... but then I got to know you, and everything changed. I wanted nothing to do with it anymore but I had no choice. You have to believe me..." I inched forward again, trying to take a hold of her wrists._

_Tegan shook her head back and forth, this time moving backwards away from me as her eyes found mine. I didn't even try to follow her. I knew from the defeated look in her eyes that this was it. She was never going to forgive me._

"_I hate you," She whispered, a sob breaking out of her throat as she span around and began to run away..._

My eyes shot open and a huge gasp left my throat as I looked around my bedroom, taking in huge gulps of air as I realised everything that had just happened wasn't true. It had all been a dream...

But it had been _so _real.

I felt the bed begin to stir beside me, and I looked down to see Tegan lay in the crook of my arm, her head pressed against my bare chest. Her hair was wild from sleeping and fanned out all around her, looking like flames.

I ran my free hand through my own hair before I turned slightly to get a better look at her. My fingers traced patterns along her shoulder and down her arm as I took in everything about her, my dream still fresh in my mind.

This girl was so beautiful, so perfect... there was no way I could let that nightmare come true. There was no way she could find out about the bet. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I hurt her like that.

A small sigh escaped Tegan's lips, and despite my thoughts I smiled ever so slightly as she began to stir beside me, her eyes flickering open and instantly meeting mine.

"Hey..." Her voice was hoarse as she spoke up and I chuckled lightly, running my hand through her hair.

"Hey back."

"What are you laughing for?" She raised an eyebrow my way, her eyes growing wide in horror as her hands lifted to her hair, "Oh god, it's a mess, isn't it?"

"Hmm..." I smirked as she sat up beside me, wondering if I should tease her or not... but after the dream I'd only just had, there was no way I was going to take chances. "Maybe a little, but you look beautiful," I shook my head her way, my eyes finding hers.

"A little?" She pouted my way playfully and I rolled my eyes her way. Why was she always so self-conscious? Didn't she realise how beautiful she was? "Maybe I should go..."

"You're not going _anywhere_..." I interrupted, practically diving on her and laughing lightly as she squealed.

I grabbed a hold of her waist and pulled her back down on the bed, rolling over so that I was lay above her, my arms holding my weight. I looked down at her perfect physique, her gorgeous face, all traces of my laughter gone. In fact, as I stared into her green eyes, I'd never felt so serious about anything in my life.

"Tegan..." I whispered, but before I could say anything else, her hand rose to my face and covered my lips. I looked her way, confused, wondering if she was still worried about the way she looked.

"Shh, just..." She paused, biting on her bottom lip and sending tingles through my body as she smiled timidly beneath it, "Just kiss me."

At Tegan's three words I froze completely, knowing from the look in her eyes what she really meant. It wasn't that I didn't want this... I wanted it more than anything, but could I really do the one thing that would mean I won the bet?

Of course I could... because the bet didn't matter to me anymore. Even if I did sleep with Tegan, and John found out about it, I wouldn't want the money. I'd want nothing but it to be over with... and at least if I ended it now, I wouldn't hear anything else from Jomo.

Sending the smallest of smiles her way, I finally did as she asked. I leaned forward and pressed my lips gently against hers at first, but it didn't take long for things to become heated. Tegan's arms wrapped around the back of my neck and pulled me even closer, and my hands tangled into her hair. I ran my tongue along her bottom lip, not even having to wait before she allowed me entrance, driving my whole body crazy as her tongue danced with mine.

Being so close to Tegan was everything I had ever dreamed of, but now that we were here... it just wasn't enough. I needed more of her. I needed _all _of her.

My hands left her hair, only to travel down her body, teasing her in all the right places until they stopped at the bottom of her tank. I pulled my mouth away from hers, smirking as my eyes travelled down to her body, watching my hands as they slowly inched her top up and over her head, leaving her completely naked on her top half.

My eyes roamed across her body, wondering how anybody could be so perfect. My fingers trailed along her stomach, goose bumps growing across her skin as I began to work my way higher. I stopped for a few small moments, my eyes rising to hers. Her cheeks were blushed as she stared back at me with the sexiest expression ever, and I knew there was no way I was going to be able to hold off much longer without taking her...

Or so I had thought, until the house phone began to ring.

"Eurgh," I groaned practically falling on top of Tegan in annoyance, my lips placing kisses in the crook of her neck, "You have got to be kidding me."

Tegan giggled as I kissed her again, her hands pushing against my chest to make me move, but I refused to. It felt too good to be with her like that.

"Nic, what if it's something important?" She sighed, sitting up when she'd finally managed to pull away from me and pulling her top back over her head before I could protest. "You need to answer it," She turned her head towards me, her eyebrow raised and a smirk on her lips.

"Fine, I'll answer..." I rolled my eyes playfully, leaning over and placing one last kiss on her lips before I stood up and made my way over to the phone.

"Hmm, I'm gonna take a shower while I wait for you to finish up..."

My head shot back around to Tegan, and I glared her way as she smirked at me devilishly, walking over to the en-suite as she sashayed her hips. She stopped at the door, her hands on the frame as she turned to wink my way.

"Tease," I mumbled under my breath, not being able to break my focus until she'd closed the door behind her. With a small sigh I turned back to the phone, wondering how the hell it was still ringing after all that time as I finally picked it up. "Hello?"

"_Well well, you are still alive. I was beginning to get worried when you weren't answering your mobile. Now I guess you were just ignoring me. That's not a good move for someone in your position, Nic."_

I shook my head at the voice, not quite believing he'd gone so far as to ring my house phone. Who the hell was he, my stalker?

"What the fuck do you want, John?" I hissed back, trying not to speak too loud as I heard the water begin to run in the bathroom.

"_Take a chill pill, Nemeth. I was only ringing to see if you'd managed to bang her yet. You know, all this romantic crap, taking her home with you... surely you've had sex by now?"_

I could feel my anger rising by the second, wishing I could be where he was so I could throw the phone at his stupid smug face... but unfortunately for me, I was stuck on the opposite side of the country. I was just going to have to settle for second best.

"You know what? Even if I had slept with her, I wouldn't tell you. I don't give a shit anymore, Jomo... and stop fucking ringing me," I growled before I hung up the phone, pulling the line out of the wall before it could ring again.

At that moment, I honestly didn't care what he knew about me. All I wanted was some damn peace and quiet. I just wanted to spend some time with Tegan, alone, without all of the shit that was mixed in between us.

And for the next few days, that was exactly what I was going to do, whether John liked it or not. Just as long as he didn't tell Tegan the truth, I no longer cared.

* * *

**John**

I shook my head back and forth as I tried and tried to call Nic back, but it was to no avail. The line was dead. That son of a bitch had hung up on me and kept it off the hook... was he really stupid enough to try and ignore me that way when I knew what he was really up to?

Of course he was, because he was 'in love' with this pathetic excuse for a woman that we had chosen to make the bet on. How he had ever managed to fall for her was beyond me... or maybe he was just saying that.

Maybe he was lying, and he was going to come home after finally sleeping with her, asking for his money. I knew Nic, and I knew there had to be something like that behind what he was really doing. There was no way he'd fallen for Tegan...

Which meant I was going to have to do something about it, otherwise I would be losing $500. It wasn't that the money really mattered to me; I just couldn't stand the thought of having to hand over money to Nic because I'd been fooled by him.

No, this time it was me that was going to fool him.

Smiling as an idea instantly popped into my head, I walked over to the opposite side of my bedroom and opened up my laptop that was already switched on, loading up a few pages until I was staring at the main twitter page.

I looked through the number of wrestlers and Divas who followed me, my smirk growing as I spotted the one I needed to speak to was following me in return... meaning I could send her a message that nobody else could see.

Clicking on Natalya's profile, I couldn't help but chuckle to myself as I began to write the message, knowing that there was no way Nic was going to get away with anything now...

_I think you need to tell your best friend that her boyfriend isn't everything he's making out to be._


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N: Hey guys! Big thanks go to **_Liloxbubbly, hardyrhodescenafan1, TNcountryGirl, beautifultragedyxxx, xHalosandwings, nikki1335 _**and **_jojo10 _**for reviewing the last chapter, I love you all!**

**I just wanted to say that there isn't going to be many chapters left of this story. There will only be 4 after this chapter, and it will be finished. I just don't think there's anywhere I can really take it after a certain point... you'll see what I mean!**

**Anyway, I like how this chapter turned out, and hopefully you all will too. I wanted to make this a little more detailed, but seeing as it's only a T fic, I thought I better leave it as this. Either way, I hope you enjoy, and please don't forget to leave feedback when you've done!**

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**Chapter 19

**Nic**

I listened to the lightning clapping loudly outside, and the sound of the rain as it hit the side of the cafe like we were sat in the middle of a blizzard... but none of that bothered me, not even the fact that soon enough I would be driving back to my house in this weather. The only thing I could think about was the feel of Tegan pressed against my side, my arm around her waist.

I watched on, fascinated that such a small person could eat so much. She'd finished off her own burger and fries, and started on the last of my own which I hadn't been able to stomach... at least, as I had told her. I could have easily ate her portion too, but there was no way I was eating so much junk food.

"Hungry?" I asked, not being able to hide my smirk when she turned her head to the side, blushing when she realised I'd been sat watching her.

"Sorry," She grinned sheepishly, "It's just I don't really get to eat food like this a lot, so I make the most of it when I do."

"You don't need to apologise, Tee. It's cool, it's nice to see a girl who doesn't care about what she eats and stuff," I shrugged her way.

I watched as she finished off the last of my fries before she turned her body sideways to get a better view, a frown placed on her features as her eyes found mine.

"You know, you shouldn't worry about your body so much. I'm sure one lot of this kinda stuff wouldn't hurt," She nodded her head to the empty food boxes on the table.

"Yeah, maybe now it won't hurt, but it definitely will tomorrow when I have to spend an extra hour in the gym."

"Hmm... or we could just work it off another way," A devious smirk spread across her lips, and my eyes widened as I realised what she was talking about.

But could I really play along and agree that I wanted it too? Of course, it would be the truth, I wanted all of her more than she could possibly know... but when the bet was still going, was it really fair on Tegan? It wasn't that I would take the money, even if I did manage to sleep with her before it was over with, but still.

"Or you could just leave it and get fat," She shrugged awkwardly when I didn't answer, trying to change the subject.

"Sure," I rolled my eyes, smiling her way to reassure her that everything was okay. "I'm pretty sure you wouldn't want me if I looked like a beached Whale."

"Nic..." She shook her head, a smile playing on her lips as she leaned closer to me and ran her fingers along my cheek, "I'll want you no matter what," She barely even whispered, before she closed the gap between us and kissed me gently.

I felt my heart swell at her words, and I took in a huge breath as I realised it wasn't just because I cared about her. I didn't just think of her as someone who I liked anymore. My feelings, I realised, had started to run a lot deeper than like.

Man, never in a million years had I expected me, Nic Nemeth, to be in this position.

"You would?"

"Hmm," She nodded, kissing my cheek before she moved away slightly, her smile starting to disappear as she let out a sigh.

"Hey..." I frowned, taking both of her hands in mine and squeezing them, "What's wrong?"

"It's nothing... I just can't believe it's time to go home already tomorrow," She shrugged one shoulder as she answered. "I don't want to go back."

"You don't?" I frowned, the smallest of smirks growing across my lips at her words. "Is that because you can't bear to be apart from me, or for another reason?"

"Well... you are pretty darn cute," She smiled, and I chuckled lightly as I waited for her to speak again, "So in a way, it is that. I've had such a great time Nic, but it's also because... because my job isn't as perfect as I'd thought it would be."

I stopped what I was doing, her words really hitting home. I thought over what she had said, finding it crazy that the one girl I'd actually let in was the only person I'd ever known who had felt the same way as I did.

"You know, I've never really told anyone this before... but I feel the same way, too. I'm guessing you're talking about the fact that you work your ass off, yet it doesn't seem to be paying off?"

"Yeah," She frowned my way, wondering how I knew exactly what she was thinking. It was pretty easy, though, seeing as I was in the same position as she was. "I swear I've tried everything to win that title, to be the best Diva that there is, but..." She trailed off, shrugging again as sadness filled her eyes.

"You _are _the best Diva, in my eyes."

Tegan's eyes found mine again, and her cheeks blushed at my compliment. I laughed lightly, lifting a hand to brush her curly locks out of her face, my thumb stroking her cheek. She was so cute... and she drove me absolutely crazy.

"Well you're the best wrestler in my eyes, too, baby," She finally replied, and I smiled brightly before I pulled her towards me and kissed her.

"Hmm... I was thinking, Tee," I spoke up as we pulled away, our faces still nearly touching. I wondered if people in the crowded cafe were watching our PDA's, but I honestly didn't care. Once upon a time I'd probably have been near puking, seeing someone in my position... but I couldn't help myself. Tegan was like a drug to me. "If you liked staying with me so much, maybe you'd, you know... like to come back next week during our few days off?"

I sounded so awkward as my words came out, not realising until I said it how stupid it probably sounded. We'd known each other for less than a month, and I was practically asking her to live with me. Like she was going to say yes.

"I'd love to," She nodded my way without hesitation, a wide smile growing on her face.

"I, urr... seriously?" I raised a surprised eyebrow, wondering how the hell she'd agreed to it. Was there really a chance that she cared as much for me as I did her? Because if there was, she must have been crazy.

And I was pretty sure if she knew the real me, she wouldn't feel that way.

"No, I'm joking," She rolled her eyes sarcastically, before she moved a little closer to me and snuggled against my chest, "Of course I'm being serious, Nic."

"Well, let me just say it can't come fast enough," I chuckled lightly, smiling when I heard a small yawn leave the woman holding on to me, "Tired, beautiful? Do you wanna go home? We do have a pretty early flight in the morning."

"Hmm, that sounds good..." She lifted her head with a nod, but a frown obscured her perfect features as she turned to look outside, "Are you sure you'll be okay driving in that?"

"Yeah, it'll be alright. We'll take it slow," I nodded her way with a smile, before I inched away from her so that I could stand up and place the bill on the table. Tegan stood up beside me, watching as I sorted everything out with a small smile. I finally turned to her with a grin of my own, holding my hand out towards her. "Ready?"

"Sure," She nodded my way, taking my hand and giving me a quick kiss before she lead the way outside, the pair of us braving the storm as we ran to the car.

* * *

"Oh my god!" Tegan squealed as the pair of us ran through the front door, and I couldn't help myself from bursting out with laughter as I closed it behind me and turned to look at her. The pair of us were absolutely soaked after running from the car, but she was definitely worse. Her red hair was plastered to her head, her jeans nearly black with water, and her thin white t-shirt was absolutely see-through... "We're soaked!"

"Yeah, I haven't seen weather like that in a long time," I breathed, trying desperately not to stare at anything but her face as I walked a little closer to her and brushed her wet hair from her face.

"I didn't think we were gonna make it, especially when that lightning was right above us."

"I know, pretty crazy huh?" I laughed, my eyes wide from the adrenaline. Even I had been pretty damn scared when we hit the middle of the storm.

"Pretty," She nodded my way, and my smile disappeared as I noticed for the first time that she was shaking like crazy.

"Jeez, Tegan..." I whispered, dropping my hands and rubbing her shoulders up and down.

"It's okay, just cold," She shook her head, her teeth chattering as she smiled my way lightly.

"Come on; let's get you out of those clothes..." I spoke, my eyes growing wide as I realised what I'd just said. "I didn't mean, you know..."

"Yeah Nic, I know," She chuckled, shaking her head back and forth.

I rolled my eyes at myself, smiling back her way lightly before I took a hold of her hand and began to lead her up the stairs. I couldn't believe how worried I was about Tegan being cold. What the hell had happened to the guy I was a month ago?

"Okay," I sighed, finally letting go of Tegan as we reached my room. I smiled at her lightly before I walked towards the cupboard where I kept all of my towels. "We'll get you dried off first." I added as I walked back over to her with a huge fluffy towel, wrapping it around her and beginning to wipe her down as best as I could while she was clothed.

"Hmm, that feels good," She sighed as I began to rub her hair dry. I smiled lightly as I watched her close her eyes. I applied a little more pressure, and the small moan that left her lips made a shiver run down my spine. "Nic..." She whispered, closing the gap between us and pressing her body against mine.

The towel slowly slipped from my hands and cascaded down her back, the feel of her wet body pressed against my own driving me insane. I felt her finger tips begin to run along my abs and up across my shoulders until she could wrap her arms around my neck. My eyes locked with hers, and I couldn't help myself from dropping my hands to her hips. Did she have any idea what she was doing to me?

"Nic," She spoke again, her eyes full with lust as she trailed her hands back down my body until they reached the bottom of my t-shirt. I watched on, swallowing thickly as she began to peel it up my body, my arms automatically lifting so that she could pull it off of me completely.

"Tegan..." I whispered, taking a hold of her hands just as they were inches away from the top of my jeans. I waited till her eyes found mine before I spoke, my voice uneven, "Are you sure this is what you want?"

"I'm sure," She smiled my way easily, "More than anything..."

I took in a deep breath, wondering what I was supposed to do. I had the most perfect woman ever in front of me, offering herself... but what about the bet? If I did this, then I'd have won...

But it wasn't the money that I would be winning. I didn't want anything to do with that, or John, ever again. Instead, I'd be winning Tegan. I'd be winning the girl that I loved.

And I was going to make sure she knew that before she gave me everything she had.

"I love you..." I whispered, finally letting go of her wrists, my eyes boring into hers as I stepped closer to her, closing the gap between us once again.

Tegan's eyes turned to saucers at my confession, and I felt my stomach bubble with uneasiness, wondering if I'd said the wrong thing, if I'd admitted my feelings too soon...

"Tegan..." I whispered, but I didn't get chance to finish my sentence.

"I love you too," She interrupted, her eyes watery as a smile grew across her lips.

I shook my head, my worry evaporating completely at her words. She loved me too. She actually loved me...

Now all I needed to do was show her how much I loved her.

Pushing the bet completely out of my mind, I smiled her way before I pulled her towards me, not wanting to waste another moment of not being with her. My eyes locked with hers one last time, making sure this was truly what she wanted, before I pressed my lips to hers desperately. Tegan's arms wrapped around the back of my neck, and my hands fell to her thighs as I hoisted her up, her legs wrapping around my waist as I carried her over to the bed, taking the pair of us into our own blissful little world.


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N: Hey guys. Big thanks go to **_hardyrhodescenafan1, xHalosandwings, beautifultragedyxxx _**and **_nikki1335 _**for reviewing the last chapter, I love you all!**

**This will probably be the last update for a while now, as I'm moving house over the weekend and the internet is gonna be cut off any time now ready for it. I promise I'll get some writing done though during that time, so I'll have lots to post when I'm back.**

**Anyway, here comes the next one. Are you ready for this?**

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**Chapter 20

**Nic**

"Would you quit doing that?" Tegan asked playfully, giggling as I continued to tickle her stomach. I smirked her way, but did as she said, instead pulling her towards me as we waited for the lift to reach the ground floor. I couldn't help that I couldn't keep my hands away from her, especially now, after we'd finally made love. I thought it was hard enough to control myself _before_, never mind now.

"I'm sorry," I laughed lightly, brushing a strand of her hair from her face, "I can't help myself. Maybe you should stop being so damn tempting."

"Uh-huh, you're one to talk," She smiled my way, biting down on her bottom lip as she looked me up and down, driving me absolutely insane.

"Tegan..." I swallowed as the lift doors finally opened and we pulled our cases inside, "I swear to god if you look at me like that again we're not gonna leave this lift," I shot her a look out of the corner of my eye, watching as she tried to hold in her laughter.

"Well you know, maybe that's not a bad thing..." She shrugged as she inched closer to me, lifting her hand to run over the collar of my shirt as her eyes found mine, "Maybe we should just stay here forever."

"You have no idea how tempting that sounds," I shook my head with a small sigh. I knew that Tegan felt the same as I did about being back at work. All I wanted right now was to be back at home, lay with the woman I loved in my bed with absolutely no interruptions... but I knew it wasn't going to be long till I had to deal with all of my ridiculous problems now that we were back.

"Hmm," She pouted my way, and I leaned over and placed a kiss on her lips, "But we'll see each other later, right? After the show?"

"Of course, you wanna just chill in my room? Watch movies or something?"

"That sounds perfect," She smiled, kissing me once again as the lift doors opened up on the first floor we were stopping on, "This is me."

"I'll walk you to your door, if you'd like?"

"I think I'm capable of getting a few feet down, Nic," She chuckled, shaking her head as she backed away from me a little, "Thank you, though. I'll see you later?"

"Yeah," I nodded, frowning as I watched her leave the lift, before turning back to look my way, "I love you, Tegan."

"I know..." She smiled sadly my way with a nod, "I love you too," She spoke, just before the doors closed and left me in silence.

I let out a sigh as I waited to reach my own floor, feeling seriously stupid that I was already missing Tegan. I still couldn't get over the fact that she'd turned me into this big mushy guy... but truthfully, I didn't mind. I actually preferred the guy I was right now to the one I used to be. The one that used to use others for my own gain.

When the lift finally stopped, I pulled my suitcase out into the corridor and made my way to my room. It didn't take long for me to get adjusted, and with a huge groan I flopped down on the bed. I knew I should have been leaving for the gym, but I was so mentally exhausted, all I wanted was to sleep until I had to leave for the show later on.

But so it seemed, someone else didn't have the same idea. Just as I was about to drift off to sleep, a loud knock rang through the room, and I jumped up from the bed, not amused that I'd been interrupted. I shook my head as I stood up and trudged towards the door, hoping the person on the other side was Tegan. She was the only one I wanted with me right now.

"What, man? What the hell are you doing here? I've been back five minutes and you're already fucking here to bug me," I glared as I threw open the door to reveal the absolutely last person in the world I wanted to see.

"What can I say, Nic? You know I love pissing you off," Jomo smirked as he pushed past me and into the room.

"Yeah, come in and make yourself at home, don't worry about it," I scowled as I slammed the door, turning around to face him with my arms folded over my chest, "What do you want? And make it quick."

"Well, someone is in a good mood this morning," John smirked as he sat down on the end of the bed, and my eyes narrowed even further. I wondered if his sole purpose in life was to make my own miserable, "And isn't it pretty obvious why I'm here?"

"To bitch about me not answering your calls?" I asked with a raised eyebrow, "I don't know, man."

"Actually, although you shouldn't have ignored me like you did," He shot me a pointed look, and I rolled my eyes, "That isn't why I'm here. I just wanted to know how your few days away were with Tegan."

I stood there, staring his way, knowing that this conversation was going to happen... but now that it was here, I wasn't sure what I was going to say. If I lied and told him that he had won the bet, surely he'd think I didn't try? If I told him the truth, would he tell Tegan what was really going on, or would he finally leave us alone?

I guess I had to gamble, because the first option just wasn't going to work.

"I... you know what man," I shrugged his way, plastering on a smirk, "You're gonna be happy when I tell you this. We had sex."

"You... you what?" His eyes practically bulged from his head, and I had to refrain from laughing.

"You heard me, Jomo. We slept together, sealed the deal..."

"You're lying," He shook his head, and I shrugged.

"Believe whatever you want man, it happened... so I'm done. I don't want any of these stupid bets every again. I don't even want your money."

"You're serious?" He stood up and walked over to me, his face set in disbelief, "You won the bet, I could be giving you $500... but you don't want it?"

"I don't," I shook my head, smiling at the thought of the past few days with Tegan and finally getting to make love to her, "I care about her too much to take the money, man. It doesn't matter to me anymore... nothing does except for Tegan."

"I, oh... oh man," John backed away from me, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly, and my smile instantly dropped from my face. John _never _got nervous. What the hell was going on?

"What? What did you do..." I stepped forward, my voice far too calm as I spoke. If he had already done something, if he'd told her... I was seriously going to murder him if he'd fucked everything up for me.

"I didn't do anything, I swear," He shook his head, looking my way, "I'm sorry, I didn't want to have to tell you this... but Tegan, she isn't as perfect as you think, Nic."

* * *

**Tegan**

I paced around my hotel room, a bright smile on my face as I thought over everything that had happened over the past few days. Never had I expected to have such an amazing time at Nic's house... and never had I thought he would actually admit his love for me. Nattie had been right, he really did love me... and it didn't worry me in the slightest.

Before I had been terrified about him telling me how he felt, because I honestly didn't know whether I was strong enough to turn down my title shot for him... but now that it had happened, it was easy. It may have sucked that I probably wouldn't get anywhere with my career, but at least I had Nic. That was more important to me now.

I heard a small knock, and I smiled lightly as I stopped pacing, already knowing who it was going to be. Nattie had text me earlier that morning saying once she arrived at the hotel she was coming to see me. I guessed it was because I'd been away for four days and she wanted to fill me in on the gossip.

"Nattie!" I grinned as I opened up the door and practically dived into her arms for a hug. I'd never been this enthusiastic about anything in my life; she probably thought I was on drugs or something. "I've missed you."

"Wow, Tegan..." She laughed nervously, eying me as if I was crazy once I'd finally pulled away from her, "You're... happy."

"Yep," I shook my head back and forth as I allowed her to walk into my room, before closing the door behind us. I couldn't hide my smile as I thought over what I was about to tell her... and I couldn't wait any longer, either. "He loves me, Nattie," I blurted out with a squeal.

"W... what?" My best friend's eyes grew wide, and I laughed lightly, knowing that she probably had no idea what to think right now.

"He loves me!" I shook my head again with the biggest goofy grin ever, "We had the most amazing time together over the past few days, and last night he actually admitted that he loves me... but that doesn't change anything. I don't want the title shot, Nat. He means too much to me to use him that way."

"Oh Tegan..."

My eyes found hers, and my smile began to slip away, instead being replaced with a frown. She looked terrible, guilty and sad all in one... surely she should have been happy for me, even if I had turned down the title shot?

Unless... unless something was wrong.

"I'm so sorry, I..." She began, stopping and shaking her head.

"What? What are you talking about?"

"Tegan..." She walked over to me and rested a hand on my shoulders, taking forever to finally start saying what was on her mind, "I'm so sorry, I didn't want to tell you this, but you need to know. You need to know that Nic isn't who you think he is."

"What?" I shook my head, brushing her hand from my shoulder. Whatever she was going to say, I didn't want to know... not when things were going so well. "No, no way. There's nothing wrong with Nic."

"Yes there is, Tegan. He... we're not the only ones that had a bet," Her eyes shot to mine, full with sympathy... but I could barely even look at her. All I knew at that moment was that my heart felt like it was going to burst out of my chest. "Nic and John made a bet, too. John told me about it the other day, Tee... he had a month to sleep with you, and if he did he won five hundred dollars... and, I urr, I kind of let it slip about ours, too."

I stood there, staring her way with tears in my eyes, wondering if I was dreaming. This wasn't real, it _couldn't _have been. I was back at Nic's in his arms, and I was just having a bad nightmare... or even if it was real, Nattie was just messing with me.

"No, I..."

Just as I was about to deny what was going on, a loud banging echoed throughout the room, and I cringed as I realised someone was at the door... someone who sounded far from happy.

Shaking my head back and forth, I numbly walked over to the door and opened it up, already knowing what I was going to see on the other side. Nic was staring back at me, disbelief and anger obscuring his perfect features...

Wait, he was mad with _me_? It was pretty obvious he knew the truth... but so it seemed, so did I.

"Please tell me it isn't true," His eyes met mine, and when I didn't answer, I saw the change in him. He was literally fuming as he lifted his hands and pulled on his slicked back hair, his eyes never leaving mine. "You've gotta be fucking kidding me."

"Me? I've got to be fucking kidding you?" I shook my head, my own anger getting the better of me. I knew this wouldn't last long, but I was thankful that I hadn't just started bawling like a little girl. That was something I'd save till I was alone. "You're as much to blame as I am. You did this, too."

"Don't feed me that bullshit," He stepped forward, but I didn't back down. I stayed in the doorway, staring back with everything I had. I could feel my insides splitting in two, and my eyes burning from the tears that were threatening to fall, but I had to stay strong. "How could you do this? I fucking fell in love with you, Tegan... but it was all some stupid joke to you."

"A joke?" I screeched, the first few tears beginning to fall down my cheeks. I hated myself for being so weak, for letting my emotions get the better of me, but my entire life was crumbling. "What Nattie and I did, was _nothing _compared to you. She and I made a bet for you to fall in love, not to have sex with me like I was just some cheap whore for money... and if you think this was a joke, that I didn't care about you, then I guess you really have no idea who you're talking to," I wiped at my cheeks, my lip trembling as it finally began to hit me.

"No, yours wasn't for money... just a title shot, right?" He snorted, shaking his head as he watched me silently crying. "You know what, after getting to know you I thought you were the most amazing girl in the world. I wondered how I ever thought badly of you, or why others didn't like you... but now I get it. You're just like the rest of them," He shook his head, his own voice breaking before he span around and walked away.

I must have stood in the doorway, frozen to the spot, for a good five minutes before I felt Nattie rest her hand on my shoulder from behind. I'd forgotten that she was even there... but now that she was, I could feel my anger return.

"Tegan... I... I'm sorry."

I stayed silent, staring forward. If she hadn't have told me then this wouldn't have happened. If she'd have kept her mouth shut in the first place, then Nic wouldn't have known.

"Is there anything I can do?"

"Yeah... get out."

"Tegan, no..." She stepped around to stand in front of me, and my eyes shot down to hers.

"I said get out," I spat, interrupting her. She cringed at my words, her eyes pleading with mine, but I didn't back down. I glared her way, not shifting until she finally gave up. She nodded my way before reluctantly leaving the room, and I gave her barely a few seconds to get out of the way before I slammed the door behind her.

I turned around slowly to face the empty room, feeling my breath getting heavier. Ten minutes ago, I had been the happiest I had ever been in my life... but now, I was feeling the worst I ever had.

Not only did Nic know about my stupid bet with Nattie, not only did he absolutely hate my guts... but he'd betrayed me, too. He'd used me.

The second batch of tears began to fall down my face, and I covered my mouth with my hand to muffle the sobs as I slid down to the floor. I felt so useless, so pathetic... and there was absolutely nothing I could do about it.


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N: Hey guys, miss me? I wasn't gone as long as I'd thought, as I managed to work out an alternate internet connection until I get it sorted properly next month... so I'm back with more updates. I actually finished writing this while I was away, so leave me reviews, and you'll get the last two chapters quickly.**

**Before I post this, I'd just like to say that I've been planning to write a Christmas themed one-shot, but I'm stumped on who to use for it, so... I'm letting you guys decide. Give me a shout, either in a review, by PM or on twitter if you follow me there, and let me know who you'd like to see in it!**

**Lastly, big thanks go to **_hardyrhodescenafan1, xHalosandwings, nikki1335 _**and **_Liloxbubbly _**for reviewing the last chapter, I love you all!**

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**Chapter 21

**Nic**

Never in a million years had I expected to mope around, listening to soppy chick music and ignoring everyone around me because I'd broken up with a girl... but as I sat in the Smackdown locker room, an entire week after things had gone down with Tegan, that was exactly what I was doing.

I felt like such a wuss as I sat in my ring gear, my iPod placed on my knee, the music blaring through my headphones to drown out everyone around me. I didn't want them to talk to me; I didn't want their fake smiles and sympathy. I didn't even want to be there, doing what I loved.

All I wanted was to go back to a week earlier and never leave home, so that I had never found out what Tegan had done, and vice versa. If we'd have stayed, none of this would have happened. We'd have still been together.

I felt the wires of my headphones tugged before they popped out of my ears, bringing me back into the world I didn't want any part in. I pushed back on the bench so my back was pressed against the wall, a glare that could kill on my face as my eyes shot up to see who the idiot was who had disturbed me.

But of course, who else could it be?

"What do you want?" I asked, dropping my head back against the wall and closing my eyes. I didn't even have the energy to argue with him anymore. It wasn't his fault that I was where I was. As much as I hated his guts, I was the one that agreed to the bet. I had always had a choice... as had Tegan with her own.

"I thought you might want this."

I didn't open my eyes right away, wanting nothing to do with whatever he was talking about, but the curiosity got the better of me as I felt him wafting something in front of my face. I finally peeked; jumping out the way slightly at the money he was flashing only inches away from my head.

"What the fuck?" I spat, sliding down the bench a little so that I could stand up. It was only then that I realised Zack had entered the room too, and was stood behind John with a confused expression on his face.

"Come on, man, you're not seriously gonna tell me you don't want it, are you?" John asked, holding the money out in front of him. I looked down at his hand in disgust, not believing that he was actually asking me that question.

"Are you being serious?" I shook my head, laughing without humour.

"Urr, yeah... why wouldn't I be?" He asked, pulling a face that asked if I was some sort of crazy person, "You slept with Tegan, so you won the bet. Alright, for some crazy reason you wanted to stay with her rather than take the money... but that doesn't matter anymore. Why wouldn't you want the money when she totally fucked up?" He paused, a huge smirk growing across his lips as he lifted the money towards my face again, "And if I do say so myself, good riddance."

I closed my eyes, sucking in a breath as I tried to control myself. My fists balled at my sides, and I tried desperately not to grab a hold of John by his collar.

So what if Tegan had done exactly the same as I had? There weren't words to explain how disappointed I was, how utterly broken I felt because of what she had done... but I still couldn't stand the thought of anyone but me thinking, or saying, bad things about her.

"So man, you gonna take the money or what? Maybe you can use it to go out and find yourself a girl, you know, forget about that whore who..."

Before John had even finished his sentence, my eyes flashed open and I snapped. I could take it to a certain point, but there was no way in hell I was going to stand there and listen to him call her that. Maybe she was a bitch, maybe she'd ruined my life, but she wasn't like that.

"You son of a bitch," I growled, not even feeling my arm as it swung back. It was like a totally different person was running my body as my fist slammed forward, right into the middle of John's cheek. I watched as he fell to the floor in slow motion, the five hundred dollars flying everywhere around him... but my anger still hadn't gone.

I stepped forward, ready to continue my assault, but a pair of arms wrapped around my stomach and threw me backwards. I pushed against the person beside me; my eyes clouded with red as I turned to see Zack holding onto me like our lives depended on it.

"What the fuck are you doing?" He shouted, pushing me back against the wall and standing in between me and John, "Nic, jesus man, calm down."

I looked between my two friends... or at least, one of them, and one that I used to call my friend. I took in another deep breath, lifting my hands to run through my hair as I realised what I'd just done. A month ago, no matter how much Jomo pissed me off, I would have never gone this far... what had Tegan done to me?

"She's just a girl, man," Zack shook his head my way.

I shook my head, an unhappy smile appearing on my lips as I looked away from the two men in front of me, my eyes finding the door. I knew I had to get out of there, and quick, before they said anything else to piss me off. My patience was thinner than ever, especially when it came to the subject of Tegan.

"She isn't just a girl, Zack," I shook my head, beginning to back away from them. I watched as John stood up from the floor, holding on to his cheek and sending me a look that could kill. "I'm in love with her, man. I love Tegan..."

I watched as Zack's expression changed from confusion to shock, and even John's eyes widened at my confession. I shrugged there way before I turned around and opened up the locker room door, not wanting to be around them any longer, especially after my confession.

A month ago, I would have rather died than admitted to the guys that I was in love with someone, but it didn't matter to me anymore. Why would it, when it was all over with? It didn't matter how much I felt for Tegan, it was never gonna happen. I may have been able to forgive her, with time, but I was pretty sure she'd never do the same for me.

* * *

**Tegan**

I smiled to myself slightly as I looked out at the crowd from the top of the ramp, the majority screaming and cheering my name after my big win over Melina. I waved with one hand, trying to show them all how much I appreciated them for being there, for spending their hard earned money to watch me... but it wasn't as easy as that. Usually, the crowd could cheer me up in a heartbeat, but not today. Not after what had happened exactly one week ago.

With a small sigh, I span around and took the last few steps before I pushed the curtain aside and slipped into the backstage area. My eyes darted around frantically, hoping and praying that I didn't see the one person I'd been trying to avoid since I'd arrived there.

I let out a breath of relief when I noticed there wasn't a bleached blonde hair in sight. Just the thought of seeing him made my stomach twist in agony. How would I ever be able to face him again after what had happened between us? After what he had done to me? After what I'd done to him?

"Tegan?"

My eyes widened at the sound of the familiar, female voice, and I silently cursed myself. I'd been so busy looking around for Nic that I hadn't even thought about staying away from anyone else... but right now, she was someone I wanted to see about as much as I did Nic.

"I'm kinda busy right now, Nattie," I sighed, my eyes barely flickering to see her concerned expression before I began to walk away. I let out a sigh as I spotted her nearly running beside me to keep up. I guess I wasn't going to get away as easily as I'd hoped.

"We need to talk, Tee," She added with a sigh, resting her hand on my arm. I rolled my eyes, stopping in my tracks as I turned to look at her. She looked terrified, as if I was going to bite her head off for what she had done... but honestly, I wasn't mad with her for telling John the truth. If I'd have been in her position and I'd found out what Nic had done, then I'd probably have done the exact same as she did.

No, the only reason I didn't want to be around her was because she was the only one that knew what was going on, except for the few other people involved. She was the only one that knew what had happened between me and Nic, and that terrified me, because I knew the minute she started to talk to me about it I would break down. I'd done that more times than I could count during the last week, but only ever in private. I hated showing my true feelings around others, especially people who were so close to me.

"About what?" I asked, trying to play dumb as I looked down at my wrestling boots, scuffing them against the floor.

"About what happened, about..." She paused as my eyes rose to hers, silently pleading with her not to finish that sentence. She knew me well enough now to know I hated talking about my problems. All I wanted was for her to leave me alone so I could get on with my life, and hopefully get over Nic while I was at it. "How are you?"

"How am I?" I chuckled in disbelief, wondering if she could possibly ask me a stupider question, "Oh, I'm just peachy."

"Oh Tegan..." She sighed, shaking her head back and forth. I watched as she bit her lip, letting out another sigh. Was she going to hurry up with whatever she wanted to say, so that I could head back to the hotel, eat ice cream and watch chick flicks till I bawled my eyes out? "Well, I might just have something that will cheer you up a little..."

I pulled a face, thinking there couldn't be anything at all that could cheer me up at that moment, but I was still intrigued. What did she have up her sleeve, this time?

"Yeah? And what might that be?" I asked, trying not to let my interest seep through into my tone, but I failed miserably. Nattie smirked my way, and I rolled my eyes, wafting my hand in front of her to get her to talk.

"Well, I just got back from a meeting with Vince. We had a rather long and interesting talk about who I should lose the belt to at the next PPV, because we both decided it was time... and well, after a little persuasion from me, we chose someone," Her eyes rose to mine, her smile growing wide as she spoke the last few words, "Congratulations, babe! You won the bet, and although it all went pear shaped, I had to do something that made it all worth it... so, here you go. You have your title shot, if you still want it, of course?"

I stared at her, my expression completely blank as I tried to work out if she was being serious, but as she stared back with wide eyes, I knew she was telling me the truth...

I just couldn't believe she'd gone and done that, after everything I'd been through over the past week.

"I, urr... you're joking, right?" I shook my head, lifting a hand to run through my hair.

"No..." She looked worried at my words, and took a step closer to me, "Come on, Tegan, this is what you've always wanted."

"What I wanted until Nic came along," I shook my head, stepping away from her. "You knew that, you know how I felt about having a title shot after what had happened between me and Nic... just because things messed up doesn't mean I've changed my mind."

I watched her shake her head back and forth my way, her face set in disappointment, but I didn't care. She could think whatever she wanted about me right now, because it wasn't going to change how I felt. I didn't want the title shot. Not anymore. No matter how many times I would complain about my job not being what I had thought in the future, I didn't care.

"And for the record," I spoke up again as I began to walk away from her, "It isn't the only thing I've ever wanted. The only thing I want is Nic," I barely even whispered, hating how my voice broke as I span around and walked away.


	22. Chapter 22

**A/N: Hey guys! Big thanks go to **_iluvmycena, Jensensangel, hardyrhodescenafan1, nikki1335, Liloxbubbly _**and **_xHalosandwings _**for reviewing the last chapter, I love you all!**

**So, here's the second to last chapter... I can't believe we're nearly done with this! I'll try and get the last one up next week sometime; hopefully it'll be done for you all before Christmas. :)**

**Anyway, here we go. I hope you like it, and please don't forget to leave feedback! The more I get, the quicker you get the last chapter!**

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* * *

**Chapter 22

**Natalya**

I sat in the hotel canteen, my head resting on my hand as I looked down at my coffee, having no intention of drinking it as I stirred the liquid around with my spoon. I let out a sigh, wishing that I could have gone back to a few days previously. I would have thought twice about telling Tegan the truth.

Hell, if only I could go back to a month ago. I never would have made the bet with her.

But there was no way that was going to happen, and instead, I was left feeling beyond guilty that my best friend was so unhappy. Maybe if it wasn't for me, none of this would have even happened. Nic and Tegan probably wouldn't have even spoken to each other.

"Umm, Nattie?"

My head shot up, and a frown grew across my face as I noticed Zack Ryder stood behind the free seat at my table, his hands resting on it as he looked my way. I shook my head, my eyebrow rising as I wondered what he could possibly want. Whatever it was, I was pretty sure it wasn't going to be something I wanted to hear.

"Zack, what do you want?" I asked with a small sigh, sitting back in my seat slightly so that I had a better view of his face. Now that I could see him more clearly, I became more than confused. He looked like his mind was full of so many different things, each of them weighing down on him.

"I was hoping you'd let me talk to you about... about Nic and Tegan." He shrugged my way.

I stared at him, wondering if he was telling the truth or whether he just wanted to bitch to me about what had happened, but from the look he was sending me, I was pretty sure he was worried about his best friend as much as I was.

"Sure, take a seat," I nodded to where he was stood, and he quickly pulled out the chair and sat down. He leaned his elbows on the table and sat forward as he spoke again, his voice quiet so that nobody around us would hear what we were saying.

"I don't know about you, but I can't stand around doing nothing anymore," He went straight into the juicy stuff, his eyes on mine the entire time, "Nic is an absolute mess. I've never seen him act like this before. I don't think anyone realised how much he really did care about Tegan."

At first I wanted to scoff his way, to tell him I didn't care what was wrong with Nic... but then I realised, how could I even think that way? Maybe he was an asshole for doing what he did, but we were just as bad. I had no right to judge him.

"Yeah, Tegan is... well, I don't even know how she is, truthfully. She's barely even spoken to me since she found out. All I know is that she didn't take the title shot, so I guess that means she really cares for him too," I shrugged his way, my lips pulling down at the thought of my last conversation with my best friend.

"Seriously?" Understanding cropped into Zack's eyes, and he smiled ever so slightly as he shook his head back and forth, "Nic didn't take the money, either. Actually, he punched John in the face when he offered it to him."

My eyes widened at his words, and I had to bite down on my lip to refrain from giggling. I knew it was bad of me to think that way, but there had always been something about John that I'd thought was off... and then he'd gone and stirred everything up about the bets. I guess I'd been right about him.

"I think... we need to do something," I finally spoke up, although I cringed at the thought of trying to get Tegan to speak to me, "Although, I don't think Tee would be happy to see me."

"Hmm, that's no problem," Zack shook his head, a grin forming on his lips, "I already have an idea."

* * *

**Nic**

It seemed like I was spending nearly every single free moment I had as of late in the gym... and today was going to be no different. I knew I was probably doing more harm to myself than good, but I couldn't help myself. Each day I woke up with the same, heart wrenching thoughts, leaving me no choice but to do the one thing that seemed to ease my pain a little.

I let out a groan of exhaustion as I placed the weights back on the bench, flexing my aching arm muscles before I slowly pulled myself from under them, my eyes bugging out when I noticed I was no longer alone.

Nattie was stood with her arms folded across her chest, waiting patiently for me to finish. I stared back, my eyebrow raised, wondering what she could possibly want to talk to me about. Was I going to get a lecture about how I treated her friend, or something? Because I was pretty sure I'd end up biting her head off if that was the case. Tegan wasn't the only one that was hurting in all of this.

"Hey, Nic. How are you feeling?" She asked sympathetically, catching me completely off guard. I stared at her as if she was crazy. She'd barely even spoken to me before, yet now she was worried about how I was coping?

"How would you feel?" I answered coldly. I didn't mean to be a bastard... but god, it was so hard to be nice to anyone when my whole world felt like it was ending.

"I... I can't answer that, because I have no idea," She sighed, shaking her head back and forth as she walked a little closer to me, "All I know is that Tegan is really hurting right now, Nic. I know this is probably the last thing you want... but you should talk to her."

Nattie's last few words bought me out of my confusion, and I sighed, laughing humourlessly. I knew this was all going to be about Tegan. Who cared how I felt, right? Just as long as she was okay...

I swallowed the lump that appeared in my throat, hating how I felt when I thought about her hurting. Even now, after everything we'd put each other through, I couldn't stand the fact that she was unhappy, and it was all because of me.

"I can't do that," I sighed, shaking my head as I picked up my bag and threw it over my shoulder. All I wanted now was to head back to my room and sleep for days. Who would have thought that being heartbroken was so exhausting? "Even if I could trust her again in the future... she'd never trust me."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that," Nattie added, and my head shot up, my forehead scrunched together as I wondered what she was talking about. Surely Tegan hated the living hell out of me right now?

"You're just saying that..."

"No, believe me, I'm not," She shook her head, smiling ever so lightly, "I haven't talked to her much since the two of you argued... but I do know that she misses you. She wants you back, Nic. It's so obvious. She even turned down her title shot because of you."

I froze completely, my eyes growing wide as Nattie's words began to sink in. So, maybe I had refused to take the money from John because of how I felt for Tegan... but that was only money. Never in a million years had I expected her to turn down a title shot, one of the most important things to her ever, because of _me._

"She... she turned it down?" I ran a hand through my hair as I looked up at the blonde once again, wondering if I was hearing things.

"Yeah, she told me when I asked her about it that... that she doesn't want it anymore. The only thing she wants is you."

I held onto the strap of my bag until my knuckles turned white, trying so hard not to show how her words had just affected me, but it was harder than I'd thought. How could I not show emotion, when I might still have a chance?

Because I knew without a doubt, I was willing to forgive and forget if she was.

"Talk to her, Nic. What have you got to lose?" Nattie finished, smiling lightly my way before she backed away and left the gym, leaving me to wrestle with my thoughts and feelings. What was I supposed to do, now?

* * *

**Tegan**

I lay on my hotel bed, my legs curled up in a ball, my eyes fastened shut as I tried desperately to forget about my thoughts and go back to sleep. I had never asked for this. I'd stayed away from guys for so long, most especially ones that had a reputation like Nic, because I was scared that something like this would end up happening. That I would fall for them and then they'd break my heart.

But, I knew he wasn't the only one to blame. He had as much right to be angry with me right now as I did him.

My eyes shot open at the sound of a knock on my door, and I inwardly sighed, knowing that whoever it was, I didn't want to talk to them. I didn't want to talk to anyone unless it was Nic...

When I heard the knock once again, I shook my head and sat up, knowing there was no way I was going to get away with not answering the door. I stood up slowly and trudged across the room, silently hoping it was Nattie so I could get rid of her easily.

But when I opened up the door, my mouth nearly dropped open at the sight of Zack on the other side. What the hell could he possibly want with me? He'd always seemed like a nice enough guy, but still, we weren't close or anything. Unless... unless Nic had sent him to do his dirty work.

"Zack," I gulped, folding my arms over my chest and stepping forward. "Is there something I can help you with?"

"Yeah, I'm hoping you'll let me talk to you, actually," He nodded, running a hand across the back of his neck awkwardly, "About Nic."

I let out a breath, rolling my eyes. I was right; he _was _here to do Nic's dirty work.

"Right," I answered dryly, sending him a smile that was far from happy, "He put you up to this, didn't he? He made you come here and say how wrong I was, how disappointed everyone is, blah, blah. If you, or Nic for that matter, think that anything you say can make me feel even worse about what I did, then..." I trailed off, not being able to speak any longer. I swallowed, praying that the tears that were burning my eyes didn't start to fall. I'd shown too many people as of late how vulnerable I was, I wasn't about to do it again.

"Actually, I was here to talk to you about him... about how he misses you." Zack answered awkwardly after a few moments of silence.

I looked his way, my cheeks instantly growing red as I realised I'd just blurted out exactly how I felt. I closed my eyes, taking in a few deep breaths. Well, I was already humiliated enough from what I'd done to Nic. This wouldn't really make things any worse.

And... wait? Did he just say that Nic missed me? Or was I too busy babbling on that I'd misheard him?

"I, err..." I looked at him, completely confused.

"It's alright, I know you probably wonder what the fuck is going on, so you don't have to talk. Just listen, okay?" He sent me half a smirk and I helplessly nodded his way. "He misses you, Tegan. You have no idea what he's been like since the two of you split. He turned in to a completely different person when he was with you... and now that's all been taken away from him, he doesn't know what to do with himself."

I bit my lip, hating hearing how hard Nic was taking it... and hating myself even more for still feeling that way about him.

"He even turned down the money. Actually, he more like punched it out of his life," He raised an eyebrow, and my eyes grew wide as I realised what he meant. "And after he'd practically flattened John, he told us... that he loves you."

If the first time Nic had confessed his feelings for me hadn't been shocking enough, then it definitely was this time. Not only had he told his friends how he felt... but he'd said it after everything had happened. After I'd hurt him.

"How can he still love me after what I did to him?" I asked quietly, my eyes finding the floor.

"I don't know," Zack shrugged my way, "How can you still love him after what he did to you?"

I shook my head, knowing that he was right. If I could still love him... then maybe, just maybe, he could still love me.

"You should go talk to him, Tegan. It'll be best for everyone if you at least try to work things out," He shrugged my way, and I just gaped at him, wondering what I was supposed to do. "Anyway, I'll leave you to think about it." He smiled ever so lightly, before he slipped away quickly.

I automatically closed the door behind him, resting my back against it as I looked around the room, my heartbeat pounding as I thought over everything he'd just said to me.

I knew it was going to be hard to truly forgive Nic for what he had done... but with work, could we pull it off? I honestly didn't know, but what I did know was that anything was better than spending the rest of my life as I had the last week.

Smiling ever so lightly, I quickly found my phone and key card and slipped them into my sweat pockets, not caring that I looked terrible. I was pretty sure there were more important things to worry about than my clothes.

I walked back over to the door, a huge shaky sigh escaping my lips at the thought of what I was about to do. This could very well end badly, I knew it... but at least I was going to try.

I threw open the door, ready to find Zack again to ask him for Nic's room number... but that didn't matter once I realised who was already standing on the opposite side of it. My eyes grew huge as I stopped only inches from running into him, my breath catching in my throat as I saw him up close for the first time in weeks.

"Nic..."


	23. Chapter 23

**A/N: Hey guys! I want to send a special thank you to **_hardyrhodescenafan1, Liloxbubbly, nikki1335 _**and **_xHaolsandwings _**for reviewing the last chapter, and also to everyone who has R&R'd this story in the past. I just hope you've all enjoyed reading as much as I have writing.**

**So, here comes the last chapter. It's short and sweet, but hopefully you'll all like. Please don't forget to let me know what you think once you've read! Mwah x**

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**Chapter 23

**Tegan**

I stood staring at Nic for what felt like forever, my mouth slack and my eyes wide. I knew I should have done something important... like breathe, but I couldn't get over that he was actually there. I knew I had been on the way to see him, but the thought of him being there for me made my stomach ache. If he was there to argue, to tell me that he hated me, I didn't know what I was going to say... no matter what Zack had told me about how he still felt, I couldn't wrap my head around the fact that he was there to do good.

"Tegan?" I heard him speaking my name, and I took in a ragged breath as I looked up finally. I could feel my cheeks growing red at staring off into space with him stood in front of me, but I quickly shook it off.

"I, umm..." I ran a hand through my hair, wondering how I was even supposed to start this conversation. It was ten times harder to speak to him than I had ever imagined... and it was crazy, but I didn't feel angry with him at all. All I felt was worried that he was still going to feel like that about me. That he was going to hate me.

"Is it okay, if I can come in? I think we need to, you know, talk about things..." Nic added, and from the way he stuttered, I guessed he felt about as awkward as I did.

I wondered if I could get away with saying no. Of making some kind of excuse, like being sick or too tired, and closing the door on him. Would it make things easier, or harder? I knew for now it would probably seem easier, but as time went on it wouldn't be. I knew I'd forever regret this moment if I turned him away.

"Sure, come in," I nodded his way, moving to the side and waiting till he slipped past me before I closed the door. I kept my hand on the handle, taking in a few breaths. I'd never been this nervous before in my life.

When I realised that Nic was waiting for me to turn around before he spoke, I ever so slowly moved away from the door and span to face him. My eyes instantly found his, and even now, I gasped at how utterly beautiful they were... and not to mention how perfect he was. I must have been crazy, making a bet with Nattie about someone that looked like him. Hadn't I realised it would be impossible not to fall for him?

"So..." He spoke, and I desperately waited for him to continue. I didn't want to be the one to start this.

"So..." I repeated his line, having no idea where I was supposed to start, but knowing I was probably going to have to, "Look Nic, I..." But I stopped short, because he began speaking at the exact same time as I did.

"I, urr, sorry... you go first." Nic shook his head, smiling sheepishly.

"No, it's fine, you can," I shook my head, biting down on my bottom lip. I knew it would probably be better for me to speak first, to tell him everything before he broke my heart... but I couldn't do it. I couldn't bear to confess how I still felt about him, only for him to turn me down.

"Alright, well, take a seat?" He asked, pointing towards the bed. I swallowed the thick lump in my throat and nodded, following him and taking a seat beside him on the bed, being careful not to brush up against him. "Tegan, I... I don't even know where to start. I was so angry with you for what you did." He sighed, slicking his hair back into place with his hand, and letting out a small sigh as he turned his head and his eyes met mine.

"Well I can't say I was chipper about what you did, either," I added icily, my guard already going back up. I knew it. I knew it was too good to be true...

"No, you didn't let me finish," He shook his head, the smallest of smiles appearing on his lips at my attitude. I shook my head, wondering how he could smile at a time like this. He waited for a few moments to see if I was going to speak again, but I stayed silent, wanting to hear what he had to say. "Tegan, like I said, when I found out about the bet I was so beyond pissed off. I felt betrayed, and I vowed that I was never going to forgive you..."

I cringed at his words, turning away and closing my eyes. What Zack had told me really was too good to be true, and how had I ever been crazy enough to think otherwise? True love and happily ever afters didn't happen in the real world.

"But then, as time passed, I realised maybe... maybe I was wrong. Don't get me wrong, what you did was... there aren't words, Tegan... but I know I'm just as bad. I did exactly the same thing to you as you did me," He sighed, shaking his head at himself in disgust. "I have no right to be angry with you for doing the same thing to me that I was to you."

I stared straight forward, not daring to turn to him in case this all disappeared. I was dreaming, right? Or I was thinking something completely different to what he was really saying...

But as the moment of silence grew longer as Nic waited for me to speak, I realised that I wasn't doing any of those things. He was really willing to forgive me, just as Zack had said.

And I knew I was absolutely crazy, but I felt the exact same way. I had no idea how he'd managed to do this to me, but somehow, Nic had turned me into one big softy. Before the bet, I would have wanted to murder any man that had treated me like he had, no matter what I had done in return... but now, all I wanted was to be with him again.

"I... I know exactly what you mean," I finally spoke up, sheepishly turning back his way. "I hated you so much at first. I wished I'd never met you, that I didn't even know you existed... but like you said, after a while I began to realise that you weren't the only one in the wrong. I was, too... and you deserved to hate me. You still do. I don't understand why you would ever forgive me," I sighed, shaking my head back and forth. I knew I had managed to do so with him, but still... what where the chances that we would _both _be willing to give our relationship another shot? Or even just go back to being civil with each other?

"I think Nattie made me make up my mind, actually. You should thank her, she came to see me earlier," He twisted around so that his body was facing mine, a small smile on his lips, "And she told me about how you'd been over the past week or so. That you'd been acting pretty much the same as I had about this whole thing, and also that... that you didn't take your title shot." His eyes looked up from the covers to find mine, and he tilted his head to the side, "Is that true?"

"Yeah... it's true," I nodded, my first, genuine smile of the day appearing on my lips as I mimicked his motions, "And you didn't take the money."

"How'd you know that?" He raised an eyebrow my way, his eyes wide. He looked almost embarrassed that I knew he'd given up his 'rep' for me. I shook my head, my smile growing that little bit wider as I gingerly reached over and rested a hand on his knee.

"Nattie isn't the only one who was visiting people today. Zack came to see me only a few minutes before you got here. I was actually just about to leave to come and talk to you when you showed up at the door." I shrugged, finding it hard to hold his gaze, "And you don't need to be like that, Nic. You have no idea how much it means to me that you turned down the money... and not to mention that you punched John in the face." I laughed lightly, shaking my head back and forth.

"Oh, you heard about that?" He cringed, and I nodded with a snort of laughter. His cheeks grew slightly red, but it didn't take long for him to join in. He reached over and placed his hand on top of mine, squeezing it, and all humour left the room instantly. "And you really have no idea how much it means to me that you turned down a title shot for me. That you gave up the one thing you've worked for all your career..." He trailed off, shaking his head.

"Yeah..." I shrugged, wondering how I was ever going to explain to him that he meant more to me now than a title shot ever had. "The whole reason I made this bet with Nattie to begin with was because I thought I'd finally get my chance at being the top Diva... but you know, it wasn't that simple. It didn't take me long to realise you weren't the person people made out. You were kind, and cute, and gorgeous..." I blushed as he smirked my way, "And somewhere during that month, I began to realise that maybe life isn't all about what you want... more so, what you need. And Nic, what I need, _and_ want, is you..."

Nic grabbed hold of both of my hands in between his and held onto them tightly, his eyes boring into mine as he took in my words. I stared back helplessly, lost in his blue orbs as I waited for him to reply.

"You know... it's crazy, but it was pretty much the same for me, too. I didn't want to turn down this bet when John made it, I couldn't allow him to win one over me... and when he chose you, although in a way I thought it was going to be seriously hard because you hated _everyone, _that was also a plus side, too. And then... and then I got to know you, and you turned out to be the most amazing person I've ever known," He sighed, letting go of one of my hands, only to lift his and brush a few strands of my hair from my face. "It didn't take me long to realise this was going to be ten times harder than I had ever imagined... especially when I started to fall in love with you." He smiled ever so slightly as my eyes grew wide. I could feel the familiar sting of tears, and for once I didn't move to brush them away. "I love you, Tegan."

"I love you too, Nic. So much," I shook my head, not being able to stop myself as I leaned over and threw my arms around him. I didn't even care if this wasn't what he wanted. I just needed to feel him near me.

I felt his own arms wrap around my back and pull me as close to him as possible, and I shook my head, biting down on my lip as I tried to hold in my sob of relief. I no longer cared about what we'd done, or how much we'd hurt each other. All I wanted was to forget, forgive and move on with my life... with Nic as the main part of it.

"No secrets this time, okay?" He pulled away, his face barely inches away from mine.

"Alright," I sniffled and laughed lightly, "And no bets."

"Deal," He smirked, before he closed the gap between us and pressed his lips against mine, making me forget anything except for the two of us, and what the future was going to hold.


End file.
